Reply to DC Auditor Report on Duke Ellington

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Read it and weep...

From DCist: http://dcist.com/2016/05/duke_ellington_high_modernization.php

When the renovation of Duke Ellington School for the Arts was proposed in D.C.'s 2012 Capital Improvement Program, estimated costs were set at $71 million. Since then, the price tag of the high school's modernization has ballooned to $178 million, which D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson said is a major problem for the city's school modernization program.

The D.C. Auditor's office released a report today detailing how the Department of General Services failed to provide adequate information to the D.C. Council so that Ellington's modernization plans would be clear and concise from the onset. Instead, DGS has added more money in each year's capital improvement budget until the cost of the school's renovation has more than doubled.

One reason for the price jump is the school's location to remain at the site of the former Western High School at 35th and R streets NW (they are currently being housed at a former elementary school at 11th and Clifton NW while the work is being done). According to the report, a less expensive site was turned down for no given reason. A plan for underground parking has also expanded the cost.
The traditional way to go about building improvements is "design, bid, build," Patterson said in a release. The District's process though, is out of order, she said, pointing out out that although demolition began a year ago, the final cost of the school's construction is up in the air.

This isn't the first time that the auditor pointed out serious flaws in the school modernization procedures. Last year, the agency released another report saying that DGS and DCPS didn't provide basic financial management of taxpayer funds for the projects; they found, for example, nearly $169 million in spending that hadn't been approved. The report came after dozens of school projects were pushed back as a result of cost overruns and the District putting money toward paying off major debt, The Washington Post reported.

The new report gives recommendations to Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council to improve the overall process of fixing many of the city's crumbling academic structures.

It also states that students who attend the historic performing arts school have schedules atypical of most DCPS students. Consequently, significant amounts of space will go unused for extended periods of time once the building's upgrades are complete. Therefore, the auditor is also suggesting that DCPS increase the school's enrollment or open up its grounds to other educational programs.

The Report: https://www.scribd.com/doc/314382106/Duke-Ellington-Modernization-Report

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Meh.  Not an Ellington family, and in fact we have no connection to the school whatsoever.  However, if the city is going to spend that much to renovate high schools (and looking at the estimates for Roosevelt, apparently we are) this may not be such a bad deal after all.  Ellington is at least recognized as a good school on multiple fronts.  (Roosevelt, OTOH, is a blight on the city's educational landscape.)  To add insult to injury we the taxpayers are paying in the same 200 million ballpark as any other HS in DC.

Bottom line: it's stupid to have the bidding process we have for construction.  Otoh, as long as developers fund the Mayor's campaign coffers, don't expect it to change.  In the meantime, as insulting as the Ellington project is, Roosevelt is worse.  And the mere thought of doing anything other than shuttering Coolidge immediately is not just a slap in your face, it's also a stick in your eye, a kick in your teeth, and a smack on your ass.[/quote]

DE has less than 5 percent proficient in math on PARCC. Sure, 1 in 100,000 graduates will become the next Chappelle. What about the rest? I am all in favor of arts programs for disadvantaged kids but... It's like sports programs. They're great to have, but not if kids fail academically. More chance of working at McDonalds than becoming Michael Jordan. 
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Sad, but true.

This is giving a very bad name to arts programs for at risk kids. 178 million and counting![/quote]

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