Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I drove by murch today. I noticed an enormous parking lot and an even more enormous athletic field. One of the largest I have ever seen for an elementary school.

While I understand that murch families see this as a fundraising issue and murch getting more funding, can we at least acknowledge that from the outside, this is not a school that looks like it is lacking for space to expand?

Apologies if I missed something. Does the athletic field belong to someone else?

There is no huge parking lot at Murch. And the only athletic field is a soccer field. Pretty sure you have your schools confused.

Aren't they the same thing?

???

PP said she saw a large parking lot and the largest athletic field she'd ever seen at an ES. There isn't large lot--maybe 15-20 spaces total--and the only field is a soccer field that is not nearly as large as lafayette's two baseball fields, for example. So the combination makes me think she's confused.

Anonymous wrote:Why don't Murch parents ask for changing the zones? It seems very unrealistic to make a school that big fit in the space.

Again, the boundary issue is not something that can be dealt with at the moment. What is important now is getting sufficient funding for the renovations that are about to begin.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I drove by murch today. I noticed an enormous parking lot and an even more enormous athletic field. One of the largest I have ever seen for an elementary school.

While I understand that murch families see this as a fundraising issue and murch getting more funding, can we at least acknowledge that from the outside, this is not a school that looks like it is lacking for space to expand?

Apologies if I missed something. Does the athletic field belong to someone else?

There is no huge parking lot at Murch. And the only athletic field is a soccer field. Pretty sure you have your schools confused.

Aren't they the same thing?

Why don't Murch parents ask for changing the zones? It seems very unrealistic to make a school that big fit in the space.

Seems obvious that the student population at Murch is simply too large for the physical space, renovated or unrenovated. You can't make more land to make a structure big enough to adequately hold that many students. Redistricting has to occur.

Anonymous wrote:I drove by murch today. I noticed an enormous parking lot and an even more enormous athletic field. One of the largest I have ever seen for an elementary school.

While I understand that murch families see this as a fundraising issue and murch getting more funding, can we at least acknowledge that from the outside, this is not a school that looks like it is lacking for space to expand?

Apologies if I missed something. Does the athletic field belong to someone else?

There is no huge parking lot at Murch. And the only athletic field is a soccer field. Pretty sure you have your schools confused.

Anonymous wrote:I drove by murch today. I noticed an enormous parking lot and an even more enormous athletic field. One of the largest I have ever seen for an elementary school.

While I understand that murch families see this as a fundraising issue and murch getting more funding, can we at least acknowledge that from the outside, this is not a school that looks like it is lacking for space to expand?

Apologies if I missed something. Does the athletic field belong to someone else?

You have not seen a lot of elementary schools in this area (except for Eaton). Anyway, both the soccer field and the parking will disappear under the new wing of the school. The school will be left with the hill (which belongs to the Park, not DCPS) and the area where the playground is now. apparently under the new proposal even part of the playground will go because it will become a parking lot. Please consider that there are almost 650 kids who play there daily, and many after school and during the weekend. We have been going there since our oldest was 1 year old, well before we became Murch parents.

Anonymous wrote:I drove by murch today. I noticed an enormous parking lot and an even more enormous athletic field. One of the largest I have ever seen for an elementary school.

While I understand that murch families see this as a fundraising issue and murch getting more funding, can we at least acknowledge that from the outside, this is not a school that looks like it is lacking for space to expand?

Apologies if I missed something. Does the athletic field belong to someone else?

1/3 of the land belongs to NPS and can not be built on.

I drove by murch today. I noticed an enormous parking lot and an even more enormous athletic field. One of the largest I have ever seen for an elementary school.

While I understand that murch families see this as a fundraising issue and murch getting more funding, can we at least acknowledge that from the outside, this is not a school that looks like it is lacking for space to expand?

Apologies if I missed something. Does the athletic field belong to someone else?

I think many neighboring families feel badly this is happening to Murch. Not everyone wants popcorn. My goodness.

Hang in there Murch families!!

Anonymous wrote:Our school went through essentially the same scenario a few years ago (eg. they said they didn't have enough to do what was promised). It's a game. They say they can't do it. You push back--strategically. In the end, you get most of what you want but the process is unpleasant. Every school that has undergone a major renovation in recent years has had this experience. There's no conspiracy against Murch, or Upper NW or high SES people (Lawsuit?...Really?? ).

I would cry Murch a river but more than a few Murch posters were pretty nasty towards our school before, during and after our renovation, so I'll just watch this drama from the sidelines--popcorn in hand.

Congratulations you are now as bad as the (alleged Murch) nasty posters! Don't choke on your bitter Schadenfreude-flavored popcorn.

Anonymous wrote:Our school went through essentially the same scenario a few years ago (eg. they said they didn't have enough to do what was promised). It's a game. They say they can't do it. You push back--strategically. In the end, you get most of what you want but the process is unpleasant. Every school that has undergone a major renovation in recent years has had this experience. There's no conspiracy against Murch, or Upper NW or high SES people (Lawsuit?...Really?? ).

I would cry Murch a river but more than a few Murch posters were pretty nasty towards our school before, during and after our renovation, so I'll just watch this drama from the sidelines--popcorn in hand.

Take a moment to read what you wrote there. Because a few people on an anonymous board whom you think are Murch parents said something mean about your school, you're going to treat a situation that affects hundreds of families as entertainment? And brag about it/laugh at your own cleverness? You're a miserable person.

Anonymous wrote:Our school went through essentially the same scenario a few years ago (eg. they said they didn't have enough to do what was promised). It's a game. They say they can't do it. You push back--strategically. In the end, you get most of what you want but the process is unpleasant. Every school that has undergone a major renovation in recent years has had this experience. There's no conspiracy against Murch, or Upper NW or high SES people (Lawsuit?...Really?? ).

I would cry Murch a river but more than a few Murch posters were pretty nasty towards our school before, during and after our renovation, so I'll just watch this drama from the sidelines--popcorn in hand.

Which one of the three Janney renovations were they "pretty nasty" about?

Our school went through essentially the same scenario a few years ago (eg. they said they didn't have enough to do what was promised). It's a game. They say they can't do it. You push back--strategically. In the end, you get most of what you want but the process is unpleasant. Every school that has undergone a major renovation in recent years has had this experience. There's no conspiracy against Murch, or Upper NW or high SES people (Lawsuit?...Really?? ).

I would cry Murch a river but more than a few Murch posters were pretty nasty towards our school before, during and after our renovation, so I'll just watch this drama from the sidelines--popcorn in hand.

It's unfortunate that Murch's ballooning size wasn't addressed during boundaries, but that's a done deal. As Jeff said, the school needs its funding now. It's completely unacceptable to face cuts that jeopardize what already seems like a very compromised design based on physical limitations.

As for parking, I don't know if this has been discussed or looked at, but there are many apartment buildings on Connecticut avenue with huge underground garages. I would think many of these residents use their cars during the day, so perhaps there could be a way for Murch staff to use those spaces.
As a former Murch parent, the whole process surrounding this renovation is appalling, but I've learned to have very low expectations from dcps. I too wrote In support of the funding and think the school deserves the full budget for the renovation and a confirmed plan for the swing space.