Funding for Shepherd's Renovation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a meeting at the school this evening to talk about options going forward. Todd is supposed to stop by.

There was a message on the SP listserv saying that the 6:30 mtg today is open to the community, so you don't have to have kids at Shepherd to attend. I plan on swinging by if I can leave work on time--we'll see how it goes.

[Anonymous]

"This is ridiculous. We need more money for school modernizations so that we're not squabbling between one high need school and another. We should be able to do it all."

That is completely wrong. We need better management and accountability for the projects - there is plenty of money, it is just being misused because DGS is so dysfunctional that it can't award and manage contracts. And most contractors don't want to bid on contractors because they don't want to deal with the city and its requirements. So it is hard to get a reasonably priced bids. This situation has been brewing for awhile, but Bowser is making it worse, not better, by giving the contractors more and more rather than dealing with the inept agency employees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a meeting at the school this evening to talk about options going forward. Todd is supposed to stop by.

There was a message on the SP listserv saying that the 6:30 mtg today is open to the community, so you don't have to have kids at Shepherd to attend. I plan on swinging by if I can leave work on time--we'll see how it goes.

Anyone have an update?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"This is ridiculous. We need more money for school modernizations so that we're not squabbling between one high need school and another. We should be able to do it all."

That is completely wrong. We need better management and accountability for the projects - there is plenty of money, it is just being misused because DGS is so dysfunctional that it can't award and manage contracts. And most contractors don't want to bid on contractors because they don't want to deal with the city and its requirements. So it is hard to get a reasonably priced bids. This situation has been brewing for awhile, but Bowser is making it worse, not better, by giving the contractors more and more rather than dealing with the inept agency employees.

I'd love to wring out all the waste, fraud, and abuse from government contracting, but our kids can't wait for that to happen because the sun will explode first wiping out our solar system. Bowser is in the middle of her term, so not going anywhere for a while, and it's not like Fenty / Gray weren't corrupt in their own way. I highly doubt the next mayor is going to be any better...

[Anonymous]

I spoke to Grosso today. He said he told the Mayor and Todd that if they put it in the budget, it would be removed. He talked about several schools EOTR with no political power whose schools are in complete disrepair. He did say that he would address some of the issues with the Shepherd cafeteria separately. My question is what happened to the $31M at Shepherd.

[Anonymous]

Just had a good laugh. Parents on this board are outraged, I mean OUTRAGED. They are so upset that their precious snowflakes have to eat in an old cafeteria and give their spoils to those poor title 1 kids EOTR with NO PTA, while they laugh it up at their Gala at the Mayflower. That thread is covered separately.

Oh my, what will they do, what will they do???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just had a good laugh. Parents on this board are outraged, I mean OUTRAGED. They are so upset that their precious snowflakes have to eat in an old cafeteria and give their spoils to those poor title 1 kids EOTR with NO PTA, while they laugh it up at their Gala at the Mayflower. That thread is covered separately.

Oh my, what will they do, what will they do???

Keep in mind that there are other DCPS schools that have recently had full renovations, or are slated to have them soon. For example, almost every school in Ward 3, along with Lafayette in Ward 4. Not a knock against these schools at all--kudos to them for their long and effective advocacy on behalf of their communities, since I know some of them had to fight hard to secure their renovations. I just wonder why the untouched EOTR schools weren't brought up by the education committee as a reason to leave these school renovations incomplete. Yet, EOTR schools are cited to justify removing *all* funds to complete Shepherd's renovation from the current budget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just had a good laugh. Parents on this board are outraged, I mean OUTRAGED. They are so upset that their precious snowflakes have to eat in an old cafeteria and give their spoils to those poor title 1 kids EOTR with NO PTA, while they laugh it up at their Gala at the Mayflower. That thread is covered separately.

Oh my, what will they do, what will they do???

Why hate on the support? Crabs in a barrel effect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just had a good laugh. Parents on this board are outraged, I mean OUTRAGED. They are so upset that their precious snowflakes have to eat in an old cafeteria and give their spoils to those poor title 1 kids EOTR with NO PTA, while they laugh it up at their Gala at the Mayflower. That thread is covered separately.

Oh my, what will they do, what will they do???

Fascinating. So what you're saying is that all schools should have to raise their own renovation funds? Or should only Shepherd Elementary be required to do that? Is there something particular about Shepherd that you just don't like?

[Anonymous]

My question is what happened to the $31M at Shepherd.

Shhh, we're not allowed to ask. Even if we live in the neighborhood, send our kids there, and wonder. That would be hating. Do you want Shepherd to be less than Lafayette? Why do you hate the Shepherd community?

[Anonymous]

Didn't Shepherd get a major renovation of its outdoor space just a few years ago? I recall the playground and track and field being completely renovated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Didn't Shepherd get a major renovation of its outdoor space just a few years ago? I recall the playground and track and field being completely renovated.

That's DPR space, not school property.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't Shepherd get a major renovation of its outdoor space just a few years ago? I recall the playground and track and field being completely renovated.

That's DPR space, not school property.

Really? Isn't it encircled by a fence so that the school gets to control the access? It always seemed like a school site to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I spoke to Grosso today. He said he told the Mayor and Todd that if they put it in the budget, it would be removed. He talked about several schools EOTR with no political power whose schools are in complete disrepair. He did say that he would address some of the issues with the Shepherd cafeteria separately. My question is what happened to the $31M at Shepherd.

Shepherd families have been getting regular updates from DGS, both written and in person, but it's still unclear to me how and why events transpired in such a way that the budget increased from $20 to $31 million over three years--and yet they're not even close to finishing everything. Seems the same cost overruns have happened at other schools (Deal, I think I recall reading here?)--I agree with 12:55 that there needs to be more oversight. Apparently last summer no renovation work was completed because someone forgot to apply for the correct permits.

So here we are--the renovation was supposed to be completed a year ago. The work is now happening during instruction time to catch up. Kids are dealing with excessive noise and dust, and can't use all parts of the school at times, including outdoor space. I've heard of and even seen parents and staff fall and hurt themselves near construction areas. So completely frustrating.

[Anonymous]

$31M doesn't seem like much to me. What is/ was Lafaytette, Murch and Janney's budget (seems Shepherd should be at least half)? What is Marie Reed's budget? What about Hearst?

Grosso's comment seems like it pure hatred of Shepherd Park neighborhood/Bowser. Not cool.