DC council giving away DCPS property to Lab School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Bowser's campaign treasurer was Ben Soto. He also was the mastermind behind FreshPAC. His wife is on the board of Lab.

Let's hope these conflicts of interest are noted during the hearing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did Washington Latin or Capitol City get such great deals? I know their buildings were in awful ondition...

You raise a good point: the terms that Lab is getting are far better than what public charter school are getting on former DCPS properties -- despite the fact that charters are actual public schools that serve DC residents, and Lab is a private school that primarily serves out-of-staters.

Ha! If this were the test, then the principals of a a number of DC public schools and charters should lose their funding -- because a substantial number of their students whose parents claim DC residency in fact reside out-of-state, especially in "Ward 9" (PG)!

There is circumstantial evidence that residency fraud is at least as prevalent in special ed as it is in the public schools. Who knows where the 45 kids that DCPS is paying for at Lab really live.

[Anonymous]

Noone is arguing with the need to remove non DC students from DCPS. But i doubt even the most corrupt principals do not allow 75% non-residents in their schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find the OP disingenuous that the OP said the property is being given away--it's being leased. Also, has anyone actually read DCPS strategic plan for facilities renovations?

http://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/Final_2013_DC_Public_Education_Plan_Main_Part_1.pdf

It's being leased for 80K a year, i.e. 6.6K per month, i.e. about the same price of renting a house in Ward 3, except that this is a 50K square foot lot with a huge building on it. And DC is unlikely to receive any of this rent, because Lab can deduct any amount it puts towards renovations. I'm not OP, but I find it disingenuous that you're talking about a lease without noting the cost of the rent being "paid."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find the OP disingenuous that the OP said the property is being given away--it's being leased. Also, has anyone actually read DCPS strategic plan for facilities renovations?

http://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/Final_2013_DC_Public_Education_Plan_Main_Part_1.pdf

A lease costing $80,000 which they wont have to pay because of credits is a steal in that neighborhood.

Right, it's not fair to call it a give-away when it's really a theft.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did Washington Latin or Capitol City get such great deals? I know their buildings were in awful ondition...

You raise a good point: the terms that Lab is getting are far better than what public charter school are getting on former DCPS properties -- despite the fact that charters are actual public schools that serve DC residents, and Lab is a private school that primarily serves out-of-staters.

Ha! If this were the test, then the principals of a a number of DC public schools and charters should lose their funding -- because a substantial number of their students whose parents claim DC residency in fact reside out-of-state, especially in "Ward 9" (PG)!

There is circumstantial evidence that residency fraud is at least as prevalent in special ed as it is in the public schools. Who knows where the 45 kids that DCPS is paying for at Lab really live.

To get funding at a SN school, you go through a long process with a lawyer. It would be nearly impossible to fake residency. If there's actual evidence of residency fraud anywhere including Lab, please post it. Otherwise you sound as rational as the Comet Ping Pong shooter.

[Anonymous]

So does anyone know what happened during the meeting? Did the giveaway go through?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So does anyone know what happened during the meeting? Did the giveaway go through?

Not clear. The Council is going into the 11th hour debating and wrangling over the mandatory family leave bill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1

My son is a middle schooler with a learning disability in a charter school that lacks a library and gym. His school gets about $17,000 from the city to educate him. The Lab School gets $60,000 to educate those students + a sweetheart, long-term lease.

If DCPS decides to surplus it -- fine. Step 2 should be to put the building out for bid for a charter school. If there are no takers, then give it to a private organization or developer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1

My son is a middle schooler with a learning disability in a charter school that lacks a library and gym. His school gets about $17,000 from the city to educate him. The Lab School gets $60,000 to educate those students + a sweetheart, long-term lease.

If DCPS decides to surplus it -- fine. Step 2 should be to put the building out for bid for a charter school. If there are no takers, then give it to a private organization or developer.

The process you described is pretty much exactly what the current law dictates should happen with DCPS surplus property. I might suggest the friendly amendment to "give it to a private organization or developer" of "through a competitive bidding process."

They're trying to end-run the law on DCPS surplus property through "emergency" legislation. It deadens one's faith in government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Bowser's campaign treasurer was Ben Soto. He also was the mastermind behind FreshPAC. His wife is on the board of Lab.

Let's hope these conflicts of interest are noted during the hearing.

I envy your innocence. This is DC, there will be nothing of the kind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1

My son is a middle schooler with a learning disability in a charter school that lacks a library and gym. His school gets about $17,000 from the city to educate him. The Lab School gets $60,000 to educate those students + a sweetheart, long-term lease.

If DCPS decides to surplus it -- fine. Step 2 should be to put the building out for bid for a charter school. If there are no takers, then give it to a private organization or developer.

Lab took over the lease of a private school that went bankrupt 5 years ago. The Hardy doesn't have a gym either. Also, public funding is more of a losing situation for Lab. DCPS take forever with reimbursement. DCPS makes more money by leasing the building which it's done since the 1990s long b/f Lab was in the building.

[Anonymous]

Opposing today's attempt to surplus the school isn't the same as opposing The Lab School. Lab is a great school. That fact, however, doesn't mean the city should be able to ram-rod a long term lease through the Council without public notice -- especially when it is not an actual "emergency" and this is the tactic they have tried time and again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Lab took over the lease of a private school that went bankrupt 5 years ago. The Hardy doesn't have a gym either. Also, public funding is more of a losing situation for Lab. DCPS take forever with reimbursement. DCPS makes more money by leasing the building which it's done since the 1990s long b/f Lab was in the building.

But the point of DCPS isn't to make money, it's to serve students.