DC council giving away DCPS property to Lab School

[Anonymous]

The DC Council will be having an "emergency" vote tomorrow to give the old Hardy school on Foxhall road at almost no cost to the Lab school for the next 50 years. Nearby elementary schools like Key and Stoddert are bursting at the seams with the kids in trailers and no renovation plans on the horizon. No sane person could conclude that the property will not be needed by DCPS for 50 years. Surely some charters would love the location! The only "emergency" is that people aren't paying attention this week.

Lab school charges DCPS about $60,000 per year for each DCPS student who attends. Isnt that enough of our tax dollars. But -- there are lots of donations to people on the DC council from Lab school Board members. Coincidence?

Email your council member and insist that they have an open and fair process before screwing DCPS kids!

[Anonymous]

It's like a bad dream that keeps recurring. The DC government keeps trying to give away this property. And like cockroaches, they scatter when the light is turned on. So this time it's "emergency" legislation. There's seven years left in the lease, what's the emergency?

If you want some backstory, they tried in 2015:
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/471647.page
And in 2013:
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/301912.page



Don't bother checking the DC Council website for the text of this bill, it's not there.

[Anonymous]

I can't believe they had the nerve to do this right after the whole Fillmore closing thing showed that the neighboring schools have absolutely no space.

[Anonymous]

One quarter of Lab's students ARE DC public school students that they serve on behalf of the city. These students qualify on the basis of need.

It is not clear why a couple people feel these students aren't deserving of suitable space too. Maybe if their children struggled with a learning disability, they would be more understanding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One quarter of Lab's students ARE DC public school students that they serve on behalf of the city. These students qualify on the basis of need.

It is not clear why a couple people feel these students aren't deserving of suitable space too. Maybe if their children struggled with a learning disability, they would be more understanding.

If they are more deserving than the local ES kids in trailers, then lets have a public hearing as DC law requires.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One quarter of Lab's students ARE DC public school students that they serve on behalf of the city. These students qualify on the basis of need.

It is not clear why a couple people feel these students aren't deserving of suitable space too. Maybe if their children struggled with a learning disability, they would be more understanding.

"Serve on behalf of the city" is an interesting way of putting it, considering the city pays handsomely -- most of those kids are placed by court order, the city doesn't even have any choice in the matter.

And the other three quarters? Not even DC residents. Why is the city putting the needs of non-residents ahead of residents.

[Anonymous]

You should really check your facts - and priorities. The city pays "handsomely" for ALL students, including yours. Are students with learning disabilities not worthy of the same public investment?

How dare you question the value of Lab to the city. To the families whose children have been so disserviced by the traditional public school system that they have been placed in Lab, it is certainly worth it.

The over 100 Lab families who come from the DC public schools want the same opportunities for their children as you want for yours.

Give it a rest.

[Anonymous]

The city PAYS for the students to attend Lab, and Lab tuition should fund their facilities. They don't need money + free space from DC.

Sure, the kids from Lab should have decent faciities and it should get paid for ftom Lab's revenues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should really check your facts - and priorities. The city pays "handsomely" for ALL students, including yours. Are students with learning disabilities not worthy of the same public investment?

How dare you question the value of Lab to the city. To the families whose children have been so disserviced by the traditional public school system that they have been placed in Lab, it is certainly worth it.

The over 100 Lab families who come from the DC public schools want the same opportunities for their children as you want for yours.

Give it a rest.

Lab gets tuition money from DCPS for their services. If they want a subsidized building too, let them give some breaks on tuition. I'm not anti-Lab -- I had a kid in a different private special education placement, and I understand that system intimately.

Or, if we're giving sweet deals on buildings, then let's give them to other private special education schools, too. And let's do it above board if we're going to do it, not with "emergency" legislation. There's no reason Lab is ahead of them in line, or ahead of DCPS or charter needs, no matter how good or bad a school it is. Let them run a capital campaign and build a space.

[Anonymous]

^^Amen!!+

[Anonymous]

BTW what is your source on this if it's not on the council web site? I don't wanna write an angry letter to my council member and find out it's not actually real.

[Anonymous]

It is sneaky and disingenuous to try and pass this the week before Christmas. Who is in Lab school's back pocket? Who introduced this measure?

[Anonymous]

For those who think that DC should get a tuition discount, by law tuition for special ed schools paid by DCPS is established by OSSE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those who think that DC should get a tuition discount, by law tuition for special ed schools paid by DCPS is established by OSSE.

My point was not to suggest a literal tuition discount. It was to point out that, like all private special education schools where DCPS kids are placed, they are already compensated through tuition, and it is not appropriate to single out Lab among all similar institutions for an additional, unearned benefit in the form of a real estate subsidy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who think that DC should get a tuition discount, by law tuition for special ed schools paid by DCPS is established by OSSE.

My point was not to suggest a literal tuition discount. It was to point out that, like all private special education schools where DCPS kids are placed, they are already compensated through tuition, and it is not appropriate to single out Lab among all similar institutions for an additional, unearned benefit in the form of a real estate subsidy.

Someone paid for this. Which council person received a donation from Lab? Can we find out who sponsored the bill?