DC Auditor Report on Duke Ellington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is on the mayor and the council. They're all culpable in this one.

And we wonder why we're fighting over scraps for the rest of our schools.

DGS. They are the supposed experts. I wonder if any senior people in the department have or had kids in DCPS.

No, because a lot of DGS "work" is outsourced to contractors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The parking thing isn't unique to Ellington. DCPS says they must install one at Murch because of zoning, and will be destroying a playground to do it. Doesn't Janney have one too?

Now supposedly the city is saying no more underground parking garages but in the initial waves of building they were de riguer (similar to kilns at elementary schools).

Underground parking isn't always a waste of money. It depends.

What is clear is that it is a waste of money in this case. The school should have been moved to a more central, metro accessible location.

The reason it was not is because its political backers like the prestige of the current site and saw the sensible suggestions to move it as being part of The Plan.

That's as far as I can determine. It is a total scandal, reminiscent of Barry- era DC.

Oh come on. There was every reason to leave Duke where it was, given that it had thrived there for decades. Downtown real estate and building costs would have been even more expensive than Georgetown. This continuing irrational effort to tie the location to the inexcusable cost overruns is nothing but snooty Georgetown and Burleith residents who are angry that a bunch of predominantly African American kids have the temerity to attend public school in their neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The parking thing isn't unique to Ellington. DCPS says they must install one at Murch because of zoning, and will be destroying a playground to do it. Doesn't Janney have one too?

Now supposedly the city is saying no more underground parking garages but in the initial waves of building they were de riguer (similar to kilns at elementary schools).

Underground parking isn't always a waste of money. It depends.

What is clear is that it is a waste of money in this case. The school should have been moved to a more central, metro accessible location.

The reason it was not is because its political backers like the prestige of the current site and saw the sensible suggestions to move it as being part of The Plan.

That's as far as I can determine. It is a total scandal, reminiscent of Barry- era DC.

Oh come on. There was every reason to leave Duke where it was, given that it had thrived there for decades. Downtown real estate and building costs would have been even more expensive than Georgetown. This continuing irrational effort to tie the location to the inexcusable cost overruns is nothing but snooty Georgetown and Burleith residents who are angry that a bunch of predominantly African American kids have the temerity to attend public school in their neighborhood.

Finally, the race card!

Have no sense of decency, sir?

More to the point, a couple of you Duke Ellington boosters are using the expression "thriving."

What exactly do you mean? That you know how to steal $180 million, and counting, of taxpayer money to fund your pet projects?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The parking thing isn't unique to Ellington. DCPS says they must install one at Murch because of zoning, and will be destroying a playground to do it. Doesn't Janney have one too?

Now supposedly the city is saying no more underground parking garages but in the initial waves of building they were de riguer (similar to kilns at elementary schools).

Underground parking isn't always a waste of money. It depends.

What is clear is that it is a waste of money in this case. The school should have been moved to a more central, metro accessible location.

The reason it was not is because its political backers like the prestige of the current site and saw the sensible suggestions to move it as being part of The Plan.

That's as far as I can determine. It is a total scandal, reminiscent of Barry- era DC.

Oh come on now, that's ridiculous. You're totally neglecting the fact that they undercharge MD / VA residents for a private school level experience (if it's even collected). $10K per year?? Try $30K, or maybe $40K now.
Oh come on. There was every reason to leave Duke where it was, given that it had thrived there for decades. Downtown real estate and building costs would have been even more expensive than Georgetown. This continuing irrational effort to tie the location to the inexcusable cost overruns is nothing but snooty Georgetown and Burleith residents who are angry that a bunch of predominantly African American kids have the temerity to attend public school in their neighborhood.

Finally, the race card!

Have no sense of decency, sir?

More to the point, a couple of you Duke Ellington boosters are using the expression "thriving."

What exactly do you mean? That you know how to steal $180 million, and counting, of taxpayer money to fund your pet projects?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems very little blame placed at the school - which doesn't surprise me. I think they are victims too.

The Duke Ellington administration and board as "victims"??!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The parking thing isn't unique to Ellington. DCPS says they must install one at Murch because of zoning, and will be destroying a playground to do it. Doesn't Janney have one too?

Now supposedly the city is saying no more underground parking garages but in the initial waves of building they were de riguer (similar to kilns at elementary schools).

Underground parking isn't always a waste of money. It depends.

What is clear is that it is a waste of money in this case. The school should have been moved to a more central, metro accessible location.

The reason it was not is because its political backers like the prestige of the current site and saw the sensible suggestions to move it as being part of The Plan.

That's as far as I can determine. It is a total scandal, reminiscent of [crackhead mayor]- era DC.

Oh come on. There was every reason to leave Duke where it was, given that it had thrived there for decades. Downtown real estate and building costs would have been even more expensive than Georgetown. This continuing irrational effort to tie the location to the inexcusable cost overruns is nothing but snooty Georgetown and Burleith residents who are angry that a bunch of predominantly African American kids have the temerity to attend public school in their neighborhood.

The ol' race card is always trotted out whenever some DC folks are caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

[Anonymous]

DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson is a self-described "budget nerd" who purports to scrutinize wasteful overspending -- except it seems with Duke Ellington, where he is also a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson is a self-described "budget nerd" who purports to scrutinize wasteful overspending -- except it seems with Duke Ellington, where he is also a parent.

Did not know that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The parking thing isn't unique to Ellington. DCPS says they must install one at Murch because of zoning, and will be destroying a playground to do it. Doesn't Janney have one too?

Now supposedly the city is saying no more underground parking garages but in the initial waves of building they were de riguer (similar to kilns at elementary schools).

Underground parking isn't always a waste of money. It depends.

What is clear is that it is a waste of money in this case. The school should have been moved to a more central, metro accessible location.

The reason it was not is because its political backers like the prestige of the current site and saw the sensible suggestions to move it as being part of The Plan.

That's as far as I can determine. It is a total scandal, reminiscent of Barry- era DC.

Totally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why the Ellington project got no oversight in planning or ongoing implementation, in comparison to elementary school projects that cost beans in comparison and get cut every step of the way.

Ellington is the project that continues to suck all of the oxygen out of the room -- or at least out of the DC school modernization budget. It's a pretty amazing feat, for a school with a board where the DC government doesn't have a single board seat. The Ellington board is self-perpetuating, but not one director is designated by DC. No, zip, nada governance accountability to the mayor, the council, the chancellor and the taxpayers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:..."Much of the cost overruns - $60M - can be attributed to the underground parking."

Underground parking changes the entire scope of a project, especially when dealing with tight neighborhood like that.

I've seen weird things get put into an ed spec document, but this takes the cake. The problem is there is no fingerprint to say exactly who asked for the change and why.

Janney got an underground parking garage but no one takes them to task.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems very little blame placed at the school - which doesn't surprise me. I think they are victims too.

Victims of a buttload of cash and a glorious palace of a modernization?

Well come and "victimize" my school too.

My point was the Ellington community wasn't the ones who mismanaged this or created the design any more than the students and administrators at Shepherd, Murch or any other school.

So no one on the Ellington board of directors had the political pull to squeeze this through. Well, then it must have just been some honest gosh darned mistakes that led us here. Nope, nothing to see.

I'd be willing to to believe it, but where does it say in the auditor's report that that's what happened here? I didn't see that finding. Did you?

The report doesn't say 2 + 2 = 4.

Now, is it, or is it not?

The report certainly talks about the Ellington board, and their preference for a new building built on Ellington Field, and the local ANC and city politicians vetoing that, which lots of back and forth over what would have cost more or less.

But the mismanagement of the design, contracting, failure to manage to milestones, etc -- is all on DGS and DCPS. That part isn't on the Ellington Board, who may well have messed it up even worse had they been in charge of it, but they weren't.

Why would the Ellington board have wanted to build a new building on another property in Burleith, in a location which is relatively inconvenient to the majority of Ellington students? It's not central to all areas of the city, not on the Metro and is several blocks away from what passes for a bus line. It's not located near any performing arts venue that Ellington students might leverage. Doesn't make sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why the Ellington project got no oversight in planning or ongoing implementation, in comparison to elementary school projects that cost beans in comparison and get cut every step of the way.

Ellington is the project that continues to suck all of the oxygen out of the room -- or at least out of the DC school modernization budget. It's a pretty amazing feat, for a school with a board where the DC government doesn't have a single board seat. The Ellington board is self-perpetuating, but not one director is designated by DC. No, zip, nada governance accountability to the mayor, the council, the chancellor and the taxpayers.

Someone authorized that stupid set up. That someone should go to jail for massive misuse of public funds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems very little blame placed at the school - which doesn't surprise me. I think they are victims too.

Victims of a buttload of cash and a glorious palace of a modernization?

Well come and "victimize" my school too.

My point was the Ellington community wasn't the ones who mismanaged this or created the design any more than the students and administrators at Shepherd, Murch or any other school.

So no one on the Ellington board of directors had the political pull to squeeze this through. Well, then it must have just been some honest gosh darned mistakes that led us here. Nope, nothing to see.

I'd be willing to to believe it, but where does it say in the auditor's report that that's what happened here? I didn't see that finding. Did you?

The report doesn't say 2 + 2 = 4.

Now, is it, or is it not?

The report certainly talks about the Ellington board, and their preference for a new building built on Ellington Field, and the local ANC and city politicians vetoing that, which lots of back and forth over what would have cost more or less.

But the mismanagement of the design, contracting, failure to manage to milestones, etc -- is all on DGS and DCPS. That part isn't on the Ellington Board, who may well have messed it up even worse had they been in charge of it, but they weren't.

Why would the Ellington board have wanted to build a new building on another property in Burleith, in a location which is relatively inconvenient to the majority of Ellington students? It's not central to all areas of the city, not on the Metro and is several blocks away from what passes for a bus line. It's not located near any performing arts venue that Ellington students might leverage. Doesn't make sense.

Prestige my little one... prestige. You have much to learn about the world of the fine arts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why exactly are we building a mecca for the Arts? Have you ever heard of a starving engineer? An engineer waiting tables "until they get a breakthrough"?

Oh, you sad people and your sad little joyless lives, lives that will soon be automated away, by engineers from India and Bangladesh, who are much, much cheaper than you.

That doesn't make sense. Engineering doesn't get automated unless you're talking about AI. Engineering will always be needed all over the world. I'm not worried about having a job. And I find it very satisfying to make things that last.

How's the street corner working out for you? I'll still put a dollar in your guitar case.

I make amazing things that last. That people actually like. But it's cute you're proud of your curb cuts.