Reply to Why is the Foxhall Community Citizens Association scared of public school children?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

DCPS families who live in Foxhall and the Palisades understand your concern and will advocate on behalf of Stoddert families that no part of Glover Park is re-zoned to Foxhall ES. It would set a horrible precedent for DCPS that none of us have any interest in seeing happen.

But if you view Frumin's proposals as a "win" for you and your neighbors, I do believe you are mistaken. I'll explain why below.

[u]Demographics[/u]
The number of families in Ward 3 - and particularly in the Mann / Key / Stoddert catchment area - is ballooning. The CWG process documented that thoroughly, so I won't revisit it. With the announcement of the opening of MacArthur Blvd (whether it is a 500, 700, or 1,000 student school), the balloon will further inflate. There are hundreds of low-rent apartments along MacArthur Blvd. that are either empty or inhabited by couples or singles. The demographics of these buildings will change very quickly. In addition, further developments along the MacArthur Blvd. corridor will add further density (a key objective of Mayor Bowser). In sum, it's not unreasonable to expect hundreds of DCPS families to relocate to Foxhall and the Palisades in the coming years.

[u]Existing Elementary School Infrastructure[/u]
A good portion of the families moving in to the neighborhood will bring with them elementary school children. Key, Mann, and Stoddert are full to breaking point and have limited room to expand (Key has absolutely none), at least not without expensive, time-consuming, and massively disruptive renovations (a la Hyde-Addison's "swing" to Cardozo, which actually left them without sufficient space for PK3 just three years after they returned to Georgetown). Absent another property, the easiest option for DCPS to address this problem is to jig around with the boundaries. So, instead of Glover Park families being sent to Foxhall ES, they may end up at Hyde-Addison ES or somewhere else even further afield. In short, there are no easy options here.

[u]Foxhall ES and Overcrowding at Key / Mann / Stoddert [/u]
At scale, Foxhall ES relieves the demographic pressures in the Mann / Key / Stoddert catchment area and addresses the overcrowding issues at each of these schools. Foxhall ES doesn't need to take students from Glover Park to help address overcrowding at Stoddert as Foxhall ES will absorb OOB students that would otherwise attend Stoddert ES. It will also obviates the need for other "solutions" to the overcrowding problem that would likely prove much more frustrating for current and future Mann / Key / Stoddert parents than a sensible redrawing of the existing boundaries.

[u]Frumin's "Ideas"[/u]
After many exhaustive and exhausting months of reviewing demographic projections, existing facilities, and alternative options and soliciting community feedback etc. etc. etc., the CWG proposed Foxhall ES. DCPS endorsed this and a few weeks ago, Mayor Bowser did too. The plan isn't perfect, but it is the only realistic one that exists to address over-crowding in the Mann / Key / Stoddert catchment area. Frumin is proposing to put this all on ice while he explores alternatives that already have been thoroughly explored and proved to be infeasible. Many of us have seen this movie before (a la the Lafayette ES Pre-K debacle). Frumin's negotiations with LAB will come to naught; the mayor will pull the funding for Foxhall ES on account of the Ward 3 councilmember not wanting it; the FCCA will be overjoyed; Key, Mann, and Stoddert get progressively more overcrowded; DCPS and the respective school communities will struggle in vain to find other solutions that don't exist and the great schools we now know and love will cease to exist.

[u]The Bigger Picture[/u]
I get that you think Frumin's proposals will solve your current problem and maybe they will, at least in the short-term. But you should see the bigger picture for what it is. Why endorse a candidate that pitches "ideas" that he either knows or should know won't work and which, if pursued, will only create bigger problems for the constituents he seeks to represent? It's commendable of candidates to lay out details rather than just speaking in generalities, but those details by themselves shouldn't be a reason to support a candidate - particularly if the details they provide make no sense. [/quote]

(I'm the previous GP poster, if it weren't obvious)
This is all very interesting, and a very credible response.  I'm glad you say Foxhall/Palisades DCPS families will try to prevent the screwing over of Glover Park, but that will require trust; and I'm skeptical.  I think you can see where my skepticism comes from: there was an entire process where Glover Park was ignored by CWG/DCPS/Cheh, and no one spoke up then.  Where were these objections during the CWG process?  Why didn't these families ask DCPS not to put forth, and defend, and justify the boundary?  Where were they talking to Cheh, when Glover Park entreaties received absolute disregard?  Without trust, the question is whether Frumin's plan for a smaller school at Foxhall and the possibility of ending up with no school is better than the status quo.  Self-interestedly, I'd likely prefer sending my child to Stoddert (and MacArthur HS) than having to move because of these shenanigans.

(Slight note: Hyde-Addison isn't further afield than the Foxhall school.  It's actually closer (or nearly the same) to that section of southern Glover Park than Foxhall!  This is yet more gritting teeth with DCPS, and the reason they list the distance from Glover Park to Foxhall as the hike through the park rather than on roads children can walk!  This was brought up so many times with the CWG and DCPS...)

Frumin has enough experience, I trust he'd be willing to settle for half a loaf.  Is your argument against a smaller Foxhall school that more space will be needed there after families come to the Palisades?  That's definitely valid, and leads me to at least think a larger school might be filled without needing to import Glover Park when the school opens.

Overall, DCPS's lack of planning (they never had too many students like this) is the problem.  I hope there's space for more schools because they will be needed.

[/quote]

Hyde-Addison is far more accesible than the new school will be. It is simply a really bad location to try to attract students from anywhere beyond Foxhall and Palisades.[/quote]

Depends on where you're coming from. If you're coming off Key Bridge or the Whitehurst Freeway (which you would be if you're coming from most points in the NE or SE), taking a right turn onto M Street at morning rush hour (or even in the mid-afternoon) is akin to entering the ninth circle of hell. The left turn on to Canal Rd and then up Foxhall Rd. or MacArthur Blvd. to where Foxhall ES and MacArthur HS will be situated is plain sailing. So no, Foxhall ES is more accessible to many families - at least for those who are driving - than Hyde-Addison. [/quote]

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