Anonymous wrote:It's a high school. Compare high schools, not elementary schools. Plus it's an old building that hasn't been renovated in 40 years being stripped to the walls. Add in the arts venues (theaters, studios etc).

At least Ellington has high 90% graduation rate and sends its kids to college.

When the building is done it will be an asset to the whole community, used year-round.

OK, compared to all the high schools listed -- which generally are ridiculous in their own right -- Ellington takes the cake. Almost twice as much as Wilson for barely a third of the student body?

Anonymous wrote:

When the building is done it will be an asset to the whole community, used year-round.

This is actually a sore subject. DCPS buildings are not, in general, available for the community to use. I don't know about Ellington, but try using any DCPS field, gym or auditorium. It's virtually impossible. I take that back, I have tried to use the Ellington field, not available to the general public.

DC is the only place I've ever lived where you wouldn't be laughed out of the room for suggesting that the public can't use a building that their tax dollars paid for when the kids aren't using it.

Anonymous wrote:It's a high school. Compare high schools, not elementary schools. Plus it's an old building that hasn't been renovated in 40 years being stripped to the walls. Add in the arts venues (theaters, studios etc).

At least Ellington has high 90% graduation rate and sends its kids to college.

When the building is done it will be an asset to the whole community, used year-round.

I am sure that Murch, which hasn't been renovated in 80 years, would be happy with these than 1/2 of the Ellington money. Or even 1/2 the Ballou money. But there is no way you can justify the cost of either one of those projects when Murch is fighting for less than 1/10 of these projects.

Even for silly little elementary students who deserve less?

It's a high school. Compare high schools, not elementary schools. Plus it's an old building that hasn't been renovated in 40 years being stripped to the walls. Add in the arts venues (theaters, studios etc).

At least Ellington has high 90% graduation rate and sends its kids to college.

When the building is done it will be an asset to the whole community, used year-round.

Ballou had $142 million reno for 744 kids.

Why do people continue to complain about this on DCUM. There are countless threads on this issue. Yet everyone remains silent in venues that counts like at the budget hearings. Do you think change is going to happen via these posts?

Add Shepherd, 30 million for 320/students.

According to an email from my neighbor, Ellington is doing a fundraising drive right now for instruments. Now, I don't doubt that they need high quality instruments and may not have them, and do care about arts education in DCPS.

But...what if DCPS had peeled off $200,000 of the renovation funds for instruments? A student instrument shouldn't run more than $1500, right?

The priorities here just seem all wrong. Massive amounts of funding for the infrastructure, but the school has to scrape for the stuff that the kids really need.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:50 or more of whom are non-resident tuition paying students from MD who are paying DC ~$11k/year.

Ha! In theory, they are tuition paying students, although there have been auditing questions raised about whether Ellington actually follows up and collects the tuition from all of the students. And with the pervasiveness of fraudulent (i.e., below the radar, non-tuition paying) students from MD in "regular" DCPS schools, it's easy to imagine that residency fraud at a desirable magnet school like Ellington is as high, if not higher, than the DCPS average.

Actually job of tuition collection now rests w OSSE

Anonymous wrote:50 or more of whom are non-resident tuition paying students from MD who are paying DC ~$11k/year.

Ha! In theory, they are tuition paying students, although there have been auditing questions raised about whether Ellington actually follows up and collects the tuition from all of the students. And with the pervasiveness of fraudulent (i.e., below the radar, non-tuition paying) students from MD in "regular" DCPS schools, it's easy to imagine that residency fraud at a desirable magnet school like Ellington is as high, if not higher, than the DCPS average.

My favorite is Brookland middle school -

$58.5 million for 224 students.

What's latest number for Roosevelt and its 476 students?

Anonymous wrote:Reasonable?

Nope, the Ellington costs are ridiculous.

But how about Capital City, as a charter example? $24 million for 1,000 students.

50 or more of whom are non-resident tuition paying students from MD who are paying DC ~$11k/year.

Reasonable?