Reply to Bridges Families - What have you been told about the new Taylor Street location next door?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]SSMA incoming parent here. From what I understand SSMA administration asked the LANDLORD whether he was negotiating with Bridges, to which he said no, they're not interested. SSMA then proceeded very far along in the leasing process, both parties signed a Letter of Intent, SSMA submitted the address as their location to the charter school board, SSMA got permits for doing certain renovations they needed, etc. There was some back and forth with the final contract, but all parties were supposedly negotiating in good faith towards finalizing th lease.  At this point, Bridges would very likely have been aware that SSMA was close to finalizing (they'd have to be living under a rock not to know that) and I believe that the Charter Board also asked them why they were submitting a location that SSMA had already submitted the month before. The SSMA director said she had been on the other end of that situation before where she was interested in a spot but learned that another school was in negotiations for it and she said that the usual practice is for the school coming along second to back away. (The real estate attorney said that the usual (ethical) thing for a landlord in that situation is to say we're very far along in the process of a contract that is being negotiated in good-faith so I can't talk to you unless it is cancelled.)

Once SSMA believed they had agreed upon the final contract they submitted their payment and signed contract.  It was then that the landlord told SSMA that he received an unsolicited bid from Bridges that he was considering, which he ultimately decided to take.  The SSMA administration believes that the landlord was actually negotiating with Bridges for some time and used the final signed contract as leverage to get Bridges to agree to a better deal.

So Bridges definitely comes away looking like they knew they were stepping into a space that SSMA was planning to use, but they didn't have direct conversations with SSMA and say they weren't negotiating for it.[/quote]

Correct. The Landlord was wrong. Bridges was wrong.

Open communication about every stage of this process has been shared with Shining Stars families since Day ONE. So SSMA families have a timeline to match against any story told by the landlord or Bridges. They were sneaky, underhanded, and downright wrong. I can't speak to its legality.
Claims about pre-deals with Sela are false and an excuse to make the leadership look untrustworthy. Through these hurdles, SSMA families have formed a stronger bond and as we navigate this Rat Race of building acquisition in the District, SSMA has been honest, forthcoming, and persevered to find solutions for any speed bump presented along its path. This is a school, a family, an organization, that will succeed, and surpass all expectations.

-Leslie Vaughn[/quote]

SSMA had a signed LOI with Sela and used this LOI to negotiate a better deal with the landlord of the Taylor St. space - this is also bad behavior. According to the former ED, St. Sophia's was never an option because of the location. Gallaudet and Howard were ruled out early because of the space restrictions. SSMA then signed an LOI with Sela and used the terms of this deal to negotiate a better deal on the Taylor space - because Taylor is in their preferred location and requires significant rehabbing as it was close to being condemned. Legal? Yes, but ethically-challenged. Unfortunately because of SSMA's delay (and perhaps because of their shakey finances and leadership), Bridges was able to submit a better offer. All legal, and perhaps also ethically challenged. Karma is a bitch. [/quote]

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