Benefits of DCPS for non residents

[Anonymous]

I read Jay Matthews article this morning regarding tuition paying students at DCPS.

A few things that did not feel right to me as a DC taxpayer:
1 - More than 10% of Ellington students are not DC residents! For a school that is so far over budget, we are giving it away to our neighbors.

2- DC special programs (my tax $) are paying for special programs that are application only for VA residents. We paid for Arlington residents to travel to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. I am confident that there was a DC resident who applied for the program and was turned down.
" ....Our daughters benefited by experiencing things that may not have been possible at their home school,” Adriane said. “For example, Nia was sponsored by DCPS to travel to Ecuador and Galapagos Islands in the summer of her junior year"


Who do we call b/c this is not how our tax money should be allocated.

[Anonymous]

There isn't a comparable arts school in the suburbs. The arts instruction -- not necessarily the academics -- are outstanding at Ellington. That's why people apply from out of state.

The Ellington school renovation budget is over budget (it isn't the only one). The school operating budget is not and, in addition, privately raised funds pay for 40% of what it costs to run the school.

Personally i wish Ellington would become a regional school co-managed and funded by DC with any county that wants to chip in (like TJ High School which is a multi county consortium). Kids from every participating jurisdiction could apply and the most qualified can attend.

Ellington raises grant money to pay to send their students on study trips. So your tax dollars weren't spent.

[Anonymous]

I don't mind so much that Out of state kids pay for a spot at Ellington, (DC residents can pay for tuition at FFx, MoCo etc schools too). What pisses me off is that the Galapagos + Ecuador trip must be the D.C. Study abroad program for rising 9th and 11th graders which is SPECIFICALLY restricted to D.C. Residents at D.C. Public Schools ONLY. In fact, when my child did not get picked for a trip the first year we had heard that some charter school kids had applied and some non D.C. residents were getting picked to go. I raised the issue several times with the director of the program, and I was assured every time that absolutely they were double checking residency, and contacting principals at the DCPS schools to ensure that the child was a current enrolled and attending student at a DCPS. Now we learn that at least some non D.C. Residents did get to go and this will probably continue to happen. That program is so awesome, and I even offered to pay for my child to go, just so she would have the experience of going with kids from all over the city. I was told that this was not possible. This is NOT OKAY. I am going to make calls over to that office and complain. I just knew they wouldn't vet the applicants as throughly as they should.

[Anonymous]

Just keep 'my tax dollars' out of your complaint. The DCPs study abroad program is also privately funded (donations to DCPS' foundation).

I never saw any explicit restrictions on the application related to DC residency -- just that you must be enrolled in a DCPS (not charter) school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just keep 'my tax dollars' out of your complaint. The DCPs study abroad program is also privately funded (donations to DCPS' foundation).

I never saw any explicit restrictions on the application related to DC residency -- just that you must be enrolled in a DCPS (not charter) school.

there are absolutely DC resources that are used for this program. At a minimum, there are administrative costs that are consumed and paid for by DC tax payers.

[Anonymous]

The program was only funded for 2 years by the foundations who donated 98% of the funds to run it. Open question whether new Chancellor will want to continue raising money for his predecessors brainchild.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The Ellington school renovation budget is over budget (it isn't the only one). The school operating budget is not and, in addition, privately raised funds pay for 40% of what it costs to run the school.

Not true. Their 990 is online, go read it. Private funds are a drop in the bucket.

[Anonymous]

Does Jay Matthews even think about what he writes? Ellington is DCPS in name only - he should have not lumped in the other schools in this article, with absolutely no kind of follow up.

I feel like he just write up whatever he gets in press releases or hears at neighborhood parties without any kind of actual reporting. He did not contact DCPS to find out of the students at the elementary schools were special needs, he just speculated. Did the high schoolers apply to school and then move outside of DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't mind so much that Out of state kids pay for a spot at Ellington, (DC residents can pay for tuition at FFx, MoCo etc schools too). What pisses me off is that the Galapagos + Ecuador trip must be the D.C. Study abroad program for rising 9th and 11th graders which is SPECIFICALLY restricted to D.C. Residents at D.C. Public Schools ONLY. In fact, when my child did not get picked for a trip the first year we had heard that some charter school kids had applied and some non D.C. residents were getting picked to go. I raised the issue several times with the director of the program, and I was assured every time that absolutely they were double checking residency, and contacting principals at the DCPS schools to ensure that the child was a current enrolled and attending student at a DCPS. Now we learn that at least some non D.C. Residents did get to go and this will probably continue to happen. That program is so awesome, and I even offered to pay for my child to go, just so she would have the experience of going with kids from all over the city. I was told that this was not possible. This is NOT OKAY. I am going to make calls over to that office and complain. I just knew they wouldn't vet the applicants as throughly as they should.

I would contact Chancellor Wilson directly. That is absurd that DC residents and taxpayers don't get the benefits of the program but those from neighboring jurisdictions who do not contribute to the tax base are??? I would point him to this article too. Damn it, this is infuriating.

[Anonymous]

I have question here. When these non-DC kids enroll, are they taking any spots away from DC kids? Or are non-residents only allowed to enroll when all DC residents have filled the spots. I don't have a problem with non-DC kids enrolling so long as it's not taking spots away from DC kids. That is if a school is under-enrolled, I think it is helpful to have MD and VA kids fill up the school rather than leave it partially empty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't mind so much that Out of state kids pay for a spot at Ellington, (DC residents can pay for tuition at FFx, MoCo etc schools too). What pisses me off is that the Galapagos + Ecuador trip must be the D.C. Study abroad program for rising 9th and 11th graders which is SPECIFICALLY restricted to D.C. Residents at D.C. Public Schools ONLY. In fact, when my child did not get picked for a trip the first year we had heard that some charter school kids had applied and some non D.C. residents were getting picked to go. I raised the issue several times with the director of the program, and I was assured every time that absolutely they were double checking residency, and contacting principals at the DCPS schools to ensure that the child was a current enrolled and attending student at a DCPS. Now we learn that at least some non D.C. Residents did get to go and this will probably continue to happen. That program is so awesome, and I even offered to pay for my child to go, just so she would have the experience of going with kids from all over the city. I was told that this was not possible. This is NOT OKAY. I am going to make calls over to that office and complain. I just knew they wouldn't vet the applicants as throughly as they should.

I would contact Chancellor Wilson directly. That is absurd that DC residents and taxpayers don't get the benefits of the program but those from neighboring jurisdictions who do not contribute to the tax base are??? I would point him to this article too. Damn it, this is infuriating.

+1 this program specifically excluded public charter school dc residents. Why would it be used by non-residents? $11k does not scratch the surface of what they have taken from DCPS. Outrageous!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have question here. When these non-DC kids enroll, are they taking any spots away from DC kids? Or are non-residents only allowed to enroll when all DC residents have filled the spots. I don't have a problem with non-DC kids enrolling so long as it's not taking spots away from DC kids. That is if a school is under-enrolled, I think it is helpful to have MD and VA kids fill up the school rather than leave it partially empty.

They accept DC students first before looking at kids from out of state.

Some DC kids are rejected because they don't get past the auditions / portfolio part of the process or they don't have the grades in middle school. The audition / portfolio portion is not impossible but requires a demonstrated interest and history in the art discipline and there are multiple call backs involved.

[Anonymous]

Jay Mathews doesn't even live in DC anymore. He lives in California -- he decides what to write based on chatter and gossip he gets via email or by talking to friends still in the area. It's embarrassing that he still has a column in the Post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jay Mathews doesn't even live in DC anymore. He lives in California -- he decides what to write based on chatter and gossip he gets via email or by talking to friends still in the area. It's embarrassing that he still has a column in the Post.

+1 he is dated, obsolete and OOB!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There isn't a comparable arts school in the suburbs. The arts instruction -- not necessarily the academics -- are outstanding at Ellington. That's why people apply from out of state.

The Ellington school renovation budget is over budget (it isn't the only one). The school operating budget is not and, in addition, privately raised funds pay for 40% of what it costs to run the school.

Personally i wish Ellington would become a regional school co-managed and funded by DC with any county that wants to chip in (like TJ High School which is a multi county consortium). Kids from every participating jurisdiction could apply and the most qualified can attend.

Ellington raises grant money to pay to send their students on study trips. So your tax dollars weren't spent.

That's a huge cop out -- Ellington's renovation budget was absurdly high from the beginning and he only gotten further off the rails over time. It's a disgrace.