Bill introduced to declare the Old Hardy School surplus and extend long-term lease to the Lab School

[Anonymous]

yes, let DCPS sell that property on the open market and use the proceeds to fund improvements to other facilities
Lab school can buy the property or move elsewhere, like every other costly private school does

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is bullshit. Charters should have a crack at this first.

Absolutely. That's why they are trying emergency legislation, there's no way a private would get it if it went through the normal process.

It's really bad optics for charters to locate in high-income neighborhoods and Ward 3. Before Lab, Old Hardy building was a charter school that failed. Then there was a charter that pulled out of the building near Guy Mason Park. It's pretty much a given that any new or expanding charter schools are expected to locate anywhere but wards 2 and 3.

With only 1 bus line and no metro, there would have to be an increase in street traffic for students and parking for staff. Palisades neighbors would go ballistic. Why would a charter school take on that headache when there are more accessible locations?

Another private school might make a better offer than Lab. But they'd have the same problem with traffic restrictions and enrollment limits put on Lab already.

I wouldn't hold my breath on a charter or nonprofit independent school.

The bolded is not true. Before Lab the building was Rock Creek International School, another private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The school doesn't owe the city a damn thing if the city won't fund DC kids to go there.

You've got it backward. Lab is insisting that the city owes them a building. I think everyone here would be happy if the city treated Lab like any other private school and let them find their own facilities and used the public school facilities for public school kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Again, the problem isn't Lab School or any other potential tenant of Old Hardy. DCPS needs to fix overcrowding in ward 3 and effective facilities citywide.

You're not making any sense. To fix crowding, DCPS needs more facilities. They have a facility that they're not using, the old Hardy School.

[Anonymous]

Cheh, Silverman, Mendelson and Grosso now have come out against the emergency legislation.

https://twitter.com/W3EdNet/status/1106140216912498688

Wonder if Grosso returned the $7,700 campaign donation he got from Lab School lobbyists?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

If DCPS had continued to fund DC students at Lab, the school wouldn't have needed to charge more and get the best deal they could on lease. Lab was not designed as a high-cost school for political elites. It sucks that it's turning into one. But DCPS bears a lot of the responsibility.

So explain to me when it became the responsibility of DCPS to ensure the financial viability of private schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cheh, Silverman, Mendelson and Grosso now have come out against the emergency legislation.

https://twitter.com/W3EdNet/status/1106140216912498688

Wonder if Grosso returned the $7,700 campaign donation he got from Lab School lobbyists?

No backsies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cheh, Silverman, Mendelson and Grosso now have come out against the emergency legislation.

https://twitter.com/W3EdNet/status/1106140216912498688

Wonder if Grosso returned the $7,700 campaign donation he got from Lab School lobbyists?

It's amazing to me that you can essentially get free use of a $10m+ piece of public property for $7700. It honestly shouldn't be that hard for the Old Hardy coalition parents to fundraise $20K and "buy" out the rest of the City Council.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cheh, Silverman, Mendelson and Grosso now have come out against the emergency legislation.

https://twitter.com/W3EdNet/status/1106140216912498688

Wonder if Grosso returned the $7,700 campaign donation he got from Lab School lobbyists?

It's amazing to me that you can essentially get free use of a $10m+ piece of public property for $7700. It honestly shouldn't be that hard for the Old Hardy coalition parents to fundraise $20K and "buy" out the rest of the City Council.

I'm reminded of this GoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/buy-pat-toomeys-vote?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_content=campaign_title&utm_campaign=donation_receiptv5

Buy Pat Toomey's Vote

Betsy DeVos has donated $55,800 to the campaign of United States Senator Pat Toomey.

Incidentally, despite all evidence to the contrary, Senator Toomey thinks that Betsy DeVos would be a great choice to lead the Department of Education.

Betsy DeVos has never set foot in a classroom, did not send her children to public school, cannot distinguish between proficiency and growth, and thinks that guns should be allowed in schools in the event of grizzly attacks. That fictitious grizzly is about as qualified as Ms. DeVos to run the Department of Education.

If Betsy DeVos can buy Senator Toomey's vote, we should be allowed to do the same.

They raised over $72,000.

Maybe we need a GoFundMe to buy David Grosso's vote.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The school doesn't owe the city a damn thing if the city won't fund DC kids to go there.

You've got it backward. Lab is insisting that the city owes them a building. I think everyone here would be happy if the city treated Lab like any other private school and let them find their own facilities and used the public school facilities for public school kids.

+1 I don't know what the current proposed emergency lease is but the last time they tried to pull this "emergency" in 2016, Lab was getting the school and buildings practically for free (based on their argument that no one else wanted it, which isn't true.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cheh, Silverman, Mendelson and Grosso now have come out against the emergency legislation.

https://twitter.com/W3EdNet/status/1106140216912498688

Wonder if Grosso returned the $7,700 campaign donation he got from Lab School lobbyists?

It's amazing to me that you can essentially get free use of a $10m+ piece of public property for $7700. It honestly shouldn't be that hard for the Old Hardy coalition parents to fundraise $20K and "buy" out the rest of the City Council.

+1. I'm not sure which is more offensive: the DC government corruption or how embarrassingly cheaply our politicians are bought. I would have held out for $2M then fought like hell for the emergency legislation, promising my peers anything and everything in backdoor deals to secure my fortune.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The school doesn't owe the city a damn thing if the city won't fund DC kids to go there.

You've got it backward. Lab is insisting that the city owes them a building. I think everyone here would be happy if the city treated Lab like any other private school and let them find their own facilities and used the public school facilities for public school kids.

+1 I don't know what the current proposed emergency lease is but the last time they tried to pull this "emergency" in 2016, Lab was getting the school and buildings practically for free (based on their argument that no one else wanted it, which isn't true.)

The whole idea of the "emergency" lease is nobody gets to see the terms until it's a done deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cheh, Silverman, Mendelson and Grosso now have come out against the emergency legislation.

https://twitter.com/W3EdNet/status/1106140216912498688

Wonder if Grosso returned the $7,700 campaign donation he got from Lab School lobbyists?

It's amazing to me that you can essentially get free use of a $10m+ piece of public property for $7700. It honestly shouldn't be that hard for the Old Hardy coalition parents to fundraise $20K and "buy" out the rest of the City Council.

No charter school in the city has that good of a deal and many are leasing buildings from DCPS (Latin, Cap City, DC Bilingual).

If the city wants to sell or lease a school building they aren’t using, it is supposed to be offered first to a charter school. Thats in the city code. Just follow the law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cheh, Silverman, Mendelson and Grosso now have come out against the emergency legislation.

https://twitter.com/W3EdNet/status/1106140216912498688

Wonder if Grosso returned the $7,700 campaign donation he got from Lab School lobbyists?

It's amazing to me that you can essentially get free use of a $10m+ piece of public property for $7700. It honestly shouldn't be that hard for the Old Hardy coalition parents to fundraise $20K and "buy" out the rest of the City Council.

Mancur Olson has an answer for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cheh, Silverman, Mendelson and Grosso now have come out against the emergency legislation.

https://twitter.com/W3EdNet/status/1106140216912498688

Wonder if Grosso returned the $7,700 campaign donation he got from Lab School lobbyists?

It's amazing to me that you can essentially get free use of a $10m+ piece of public property for $7700. It honestly shouldn't be that hard for the Old Hardy coalition parents to fundraise $20K and "buy" out the rest of the City Council.

I'm reminded of this GoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/buy-pat-toomeys-vote?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_content=campaign_title&utm_campaign=donation_receiptv5

Buy Pat Toomey's Vote

Betsy DeVos has donated $55,800 to the campaign of United States Senator Pat Toomey.

Incidentally, despite all evidence to the contrary, Senator Toomey thinks that Betsy DeVos would be a great choice to lead the Department of Education.

Betsy DeVos has never set foot in a classroom, did not send her children to public school, cannot distinguish between proficiency and growth, and thinks that guns should be allowed in schools in the event of grizzly attacks. That fictitious grizzly is about as qualified as Ms. DeVos to run the Department of Education.

If Betsy DeVos can buy Senator Toomey's vote, we should be allowed to do the same.

They raised over $72,000.

Maybe we need a GoFundMe to buy David Grosso's vote.

We need a GoFundMe to pay for a viable candidate to run against that cretin.