DCPS students shafted again - sign petition to keep Jelleff field public

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As part of the school’s arrangement with the city, Maret received preferred permitting for 10 years, for 2 hours a day after school for 10 weeks in the fall and spring.. The rest of the time the field is available to the entire community. Maret wanted a 20-year agreement with the city for their investment. A compromise was reached where the city agreed to extend the relationship for an additional 10 years, if Maret delivered on the terms of the contract in the first 10 years.

Reply and ask him to point you to the clause where it states that the "city agreed to extend the relationship for an additional 10 years" and, if no such clause exists, why the hell the city should be compelled to honor his back-room deals. While you're at it, ask him why he insists on dragging the city's reputation through the mud again by refusing to resign instead of making way for someone marginally less slimy. You might also consider asking him whether he'd consider coming along to an ANC meeting so we can provide him with some feedback. Also, you could ask . . . ah, forget it . . .

ha. You might also ask him why he wants to help destroy the value of the Maret "brand" held by his kids.

Is the agreement public? If so, it should be easy to see that there was no automatic option to extend, right?

[Anonymous]

Why does the Mayor and Evans seem to think that if they give parents access to Ellington field, this issue will go away. Neither of them seems to understand why so many people are upset! Don't they get that people are angered by their willingness to support a backroom, sweetheart deal that benefits a private school while happily ignoring the needs of their constituents. Goverment at its worst!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why does the Mayor and Evans seem to think that if they give parents access to Ellington field, this issue will go away. Neither of them seems to understand why so many people are upset! Don't they get that people are angered by their willingness to support a backroom, sweetheart deal that benefits a private school while happily ignoring the needs of their constituents. Goverment at its worst!

+1 Seriously. Jack Evans is a corrupt fool, and I don't know what Bowser is, but she should care about good governance and local public school children. Ellington is not a cookie that will distract parents from the fact that Maret, a $40k/year private school has had exclusive afterschool access to a public field for which they've paid a minimal amount to upgrade compared to what they've spent on buying and maintaining a field in a prime location in DC.

[Anonymous]

From the Jelleff action flier.

If you think it is wrong for a private school to have exclusive rights to public fields during ALL the most popular hours – If you think DC needs to plan better for sharing public resources...

Sign the Petition And, ask your neighbors to sign too. Google “Jelleff Petition” or type in:
Join Our Coalition And Share Your Personal Story so we can share with decision-makers!
Call and Write the DC Council and Mayor Bowser Asking them to Reverse this deal and Share the Field!

Mayor Bowser, EOM at dc.gov
Chair, Phil Mendelson (pmendelson at dccouncil.us) 202-724-8032
PARKS CHAIR: Ward 8, Trayon White (twhite at dccouncil.us) 202-724-8045
(publicly OPPOSES deal) At-Large, Elissa Silverman (esilverman at dccouncil.us) 202-724-7772
(publicly OPPOSES deal) Ward 3, Mary Cheh (mcheh at dccouncil.us) -202-724-8062
(publicly SUPPORTS deal) Ward 2, Jack Evans (jevans at dccouncil.us) 202-724-8058
At-Large, Anita Bonds (abonds at dccouncil.us) 202-724-8064
At-Large, Robert White (rwhite at dccouncil.us) 202-724-8174
At-Large, David Grosso (dgrosso at dccouncil.us) 202-724-8105
Ward 1, Brianne Nadeau (bnadeau at dccouncil.us) 202-724-8181
Ward 4, Brandon Todd (btodd at dccouncil.us) 202-724-8052
Ward 5, Kenyan McDuffie (kmcduffie at dccouncil.us) 202-724-8028
Ward 6, Charles Allen (callen at dccouncil.us) 202-724-8072
Ward 7, Vince Gray (vgray at dccouncil.us) 202-724-0911

[Anonymous]

More negative press for Maret.

Parents Fight Private School’s Privileged Access to Jelleff Field
https://thehoya.com/jelleff-field/

Glover Park residents are pushing for the Washington, D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation to renege a contract with a prestigious D.C. private school after pushback from parents of public school students who also utilize the space.

The newly renewed contract, which was first negotiated in 2009, grants the Maret School privileged access to Jelleff Field, a public sports field in Glover Park across from Hardy Middle School, for the next nine years. Maret has had exclusive access to Jelleff during primetime after-school hours since paying into a $2.4 million agreement with DPR in 2009, under the condition that the school would pay to improve Jelleff’s facilities. In response to disagreements over use of field space and field maintenance, an online petition emerged three weeks ago calling for the nullification of a contract renewal between Maret and DPR.

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E Commissioners Elizabeth Miller, Kishan Putta and Joe Gibbons met with Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), DPR Director Delano Hunter and Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn on Wednesday night to discuss the status of the contract. Bowser called the meeting in response to the petition, according to Putta, which garnered 2,400 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.

The $950,000 contract renewal, which extends the agreement for another nine years, has come under fire for pitting private school children’s interests against those of public school children, Putta said.

“We explained that every day over 100 kids in the free Jelleff after-school program can’t play on the reserved field and they have to hang out in the basement instead,” Putta said in an interview with The Hoya. “This deal is a terrible lesson for our children. We should be teaching them that sharing high-demand public resources is important and that all children deserve them.”

At the meeting, Bowser said her office would reconsider the contract, according to Putta.

[Anonymous]

Hopefully there is no such other arrangement in the city. Hearst Park is being renovated and hopefully will be available to all when completed.

[Anonymous]

This is what Jack Evans sent back to an email - he says that the option for the extension was in the original deal. But the whole thing is corrupt and fishy

There’s a history to the Jelleff field and clubhouse that may not be known to everyone. This was originally a clubhouse owned and operated by the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington (BGCGW).

Facing extreme financial hardship in 2008, BGCGW made the decision to sell Jelleff and their Capitol Hill facility. The city did not want to lose these iconic facilities where so many DC residents had spent hours after school. The city purchased the facilities and the fields for $20 million. This was a sizeable investment for the city, especially during the financial crisis of 2008. There was no additional funding at the time to upgrade the field and the pool, which were unusable..

DC’s DPR entered into a public-private partnership with Maret that would preserve the field. I approached other schools and entities to partner on the renovations; no one else was interested.

We agreed to a contract to allow the BGCGW to continue using the facility, and I personally advocated for long time manager Bob Stowers to stay on as manager.

In 2009, Maret put $2.4 million worth of upgrades including a new AstroTurf field, new field lights, and a brand-new pool. Without this investment, the field and pool would have sat vacant for many more years.

As part of the school’s arrangement with the city, Maret received preferred permitting for 10 years, for 2 hours a day after school for 10 weeks in the fall and spring.. The rest of the time the field is available to the entire community. Maret wanted a 20-year agreement with the city for their investment. A compromise was reached where the city agreed to extend the relationship for an additional 10 years, if Maret delivered on the terms of the contract in the first 10 years.

Maret has lived up to their end of the agreement. When Maret approached DPR to extend the agreement, per the original terms, they offered to invest an additional $1 million in the field, and in improvements to the clubhouse.

The clubhouse is budgeted to get an upgrade of $7 million in the FY2020 budget. I do not think this funding is sufficient to bring the facility to where it needs to be and what the residents want. I have met with the Mayor and she has agreed to build a brand-new clubhouse. I will work with her to identify the funding in next year’s budget.

Many years ago, then Western High School (now Ellington) and Gordon Junior High School (now Hardy) used Ellington field for after school athletic programs. More recently, it was used for youth football and baseball programs. This could be an option for additional field space. However, I have asked Mayor Bowser to hold off on any decision over the use of Ellington until a series of public meetings are held to understand what the residents want.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the use of Ellington field.

Jack

[Anonymous]

Oh Jack. Who else did you approach? What was the timing of your child's application to Maret? Why does your summary leave out that housing developers were also interested in the property? Where in the contract do you find any support for your personal claim that the city agreed to extend the relationship for 10 years if...
It seems clear from several sources that Maret/You wanted to 20 years and someone somewhere in the city made sure the actual agreement said 10 years. Comment?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is what Jack Evans sent back to an email - he says that the option for the extension was in the original deal. But the whole thing is corrupt and fishy

There’s a history to the Jelleff field and clubhouse that may not be known to everyone. This was originally a clubhouse owned and operated by the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington (BGCGW).

Facing extreme financial hardship in 2008, BGCGW made the decision to sell Jelleff and their Capitol Hill facility. The city did not want to lose these iconic facilities where so many DC residents had spent hours after school. The city purchased the facilities and the fields for $20 million. This was a sizeable investment for the city, especially during the financial crisis of 2008. There was no additional funding at the time to upgrade the field and the pool, which were unusable..

DC’s DPR entered into a public-private partnership with Maret that would preserve the field. I approached other schools and entities to partner on the renovations; no one else was interested.

We agreed to a contract to allow the BGCGW to continue using the facility, and I personally advocated for long time manager Bob Stowers to stay on as manager.

In 2009, Maret put $2.4 million worth of upgrades including a new AstroTurf field, new field lights, and a brand-new pool. Without this investment, the field and pool would have sat vacant for many more years.

As part of the school’s arrangement with the city, Maret received preferred permitting for 10 years, for 2 hours a day after school for 10 weeks in the fall and spring.. The rest of the time the field is available to the entire community. Maret wanted a 20-year agreement with the city for their investment. A compromise was reached where the city agreed to extend the relationship for an additional 10 years, if Maret delivered on the terms of the contract in the first 10 years.

Maret has lived up to their end of the agreement. When Maret approached DPR to extend the agreement, per the original terms, they offered to invest an additional $1 million in the field, and in improvements to the clubhouse.

The clubhouse is budgeted to get an upgrade of $7 million in the FY2020 budget. I do not think this funding is sufficient to bring the facility to where it needs to be and what the residents want. I have met with the Mayor and she has agreed to build a brand-new clubhouse. I will work with her to identify the funding in next year’s budget.

Many years ago, then Western High School (now Ellington) and Gordon Junior High School (now Hardy) used Ellington field for after school athletic programs. More recently, it was used for youth football and baseball programs. This could be an option for additional field space. However, I have asked Mayor Bowser to hold off on any decision over the use of Ellington until a series of public meetings are held to understand what the residents want.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the use of Ellington field.

Jack

Yes this has already been posted and discussed upthread. If the “understanding” that Maret would get 2 decades of exclusive afterschool access was so strong, let Jack Evans point to the written evidence of said renewal. But he can’t do that because it doesn’t exist. Shady backroom deal exhibit A!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh Jack. Who else did you approach? What was the timing of your child's application to Maret? Why does your summary leave out that housing developers were also interested in the property? Where in the contract do you find any support for your personal claim that the city agreed to extend the relationship for 10 years if...
It seems clear from several sources that Maret/You wanted to 20 years and someone somewhere in the city made sure the actual agreement said 10 years. Comment?

All of this. Was a RFP sent out or whatever you call it? He's corrupt and we know he doesn't have clean hands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As part of the school’s arrangement with the city, Maret received preferred permitting for 10 years, for 2 hours a day after school for 10 weeks in the fall and spring.. The rest of the time the field is available to the entire community. Maret wanted a 20-year agreement with the city for their investment. A compromise was reached where the city agreed to extend the relationship for an additional 10 years, if Maret delivered on the terms of the contract in the first 10 years.

Reply and ask him to point you to the clause where it states that the "city agreed to extend the relationship for an additional 10 years" and,

if no such clause exists, why the hell the city should be compelled to honor his back-room deals. While you're at it, ask him why he insists on dragging the city's reputation through the mud again by refusing to resign instead of making way for someone marginally less slimy. You might also consider asking him whether he'd consider coming along to an ANC meeting so we can provide him with some feedback. Also, you could ask . . . ah, forget it . . .

ha. You might also ask him why he wants to help destroy the value of the Maret "brand" held by his kids.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh Jack. Who else did you approach? What was the timing of your child's application to Maret? Why does your summary leave out that housing developers were also interested in the property? Where in the contract do you find any support for your personal claim that the city agreed to extend the relationship for 10 years if...
It seems clear from several sources that Maret/You wanted to 20 years and someone somewhere in the city made sure the actual agreement said 10 years. Comment?

All of this. Was a RFP sent out or whatever you call it? He's corrupt and we know he doesn't have clean hands.

He’s under a gazillion corruption investigations anyway. He’s probably hoping Maret will hire him if he doesn’t end up in prison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully there is no such other arrangement in the city. Hearst Park is being renovated and hopefully will be available to all when completed.

Hearst is being redone as natural grass. If it gets one re.4th the use of Jelleff it won't last one season.

[Anonymous]

"One tenth".

The inventor of autocorrect should be flailed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, he ran unopposed for most of this time. But he's got 5 challengers now who sense blood in the water, so hopefully he'll be gone soon.

The Jackass will have a very good chance of capturing a plurality of the vote against a field of five challengers. For the good of the city, those five challengers need to sit down and agree to a pre-primary primary.

Having five challengers is also not optimal for this issue. Case in point - the "Sack Jack" campaign is making no mention of Jelleff. It's unlikely they haven't heard of it or don't think it's relevant - rather, the reason they're ignoring probably has something to do with the "Make Jelleff Public" campaign being led by a different candidate.