Shawington

This morning, I participated in a candidates forum hosted by the Penn Quarter Neighborhood Association. While my opponent focused his remarks almost solely on past development (which resulted from a combination of the Abe Pollin’s risky and visionary decision to invest $200 million of his own money in what was then the MCI Center and a housing boom), I discussed my vision for making Penn Quarter a true neighborhood, not just a commercial area that now happens to have more people living in it. Penn Quarter residents will have the opportunity to make that same choice on September 9.

Specific actions I would take to make Penn Quarter a stronger, more livable, and vibrant neighborhood include:
Strengthening community policing. Penn Quarter is currently in a police service area (PSA 101) that stretches officers from the White House to Capital Hill. I’ll make certain that Penn Quarter and Chinatown has its own PSA, so that closer relationships develop between officers and the community they serve.

Penn Quarter deserves political representation. Penn Quarter is currently represented by two Advisory Neighborhood Commissions - one whose Commissioners all live in Shaw. The other primarily represents Capital Hill. ANCs make very important decisions for neighborhoods on zoning, licensing, permits, and quality of life issues. As councilmember, I’ll create a single ANC that will represent residents in the area between North Capital and 15th Streets between the mall and New York Avenue. I’ll also place Penn Quarter in a single ward, rather than minimize its voice and the ability to get things done by dividing it down the middle between Wards 2 and 6.

I take noise seriously. I would not have voted, as my opponent did, to severely weaken noise legislation’s application to Penn Quarter. If noise impacts the ability for you to enjoy your own home, I’ll take action. As Council Member Mary Cheh said during the hearing at which my opponent gutted the noise bill, “Penn Quarter, I hope you are listening, you are being written off.”

Penn Quarter is not the “Times Square of the Metropolitan Region.” That’s my opponent’s view. I don’t want to see the noise, traffic congestion, billboards, and trash that is Times Square brought to DC. Times Square may be fun to visit, but would you want to live there? My vision is a Penn Quarter that is a vibrant, diverse neighborhood, where small businesses can flourish. I’ll also support efforts to draw international businesses to Penn Quarter, a project on which I am working with the Chinatown Revitalization Council.

I’ll focus on the neighborhood issues important to you, not just big development projects around the city. Pedestrian safety, the ability to unload your car in front of your condo, revitalizing parks, enforcing idling laws applicable to buses, and no-nonsense quality of life enforcement of the law.

Let’s work together for a better Penn Quarter!

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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The Gales School is located at 65 Massachusetts Avenue NW.

The DC Council is considering legislation to move the Central Union Mission from 14th and R Street NW in Logan Circle to the Gales School, which sits between Union Station and Mt. Vernon Triangle, just north of Chinatown, on Massachusetts Avenue. Central Union Mission is in Ward 2. The Gales School is currently situated on the Ward 6 side of the 2/6 border.

You may recall that Central Union Mission, which provides shelter for homeless men within a structured program, was originally slated to move to a Petworth location on Georgia Avenue. Under the proposed legislation, the District will purchase the four Petworth properties (18,552 sq ft) from the Mission for $7 million (2009 assessed value is $3.79 million). The government will use the Petworth properties as part of Mayor Fenty’s plan to place 400 of the city’s homeless into permanent supportive housing units. The Petworth properties will provide 50 of these units.

According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Gales School, built in 1881, last served as a school in 1944. Since that time, it was used for government offices and a winter hypothermia center for the homeless. In 2003, it was slated to house Safe Shores, a children’s advocacy center. Those plans changed and Safe Shores is now supposed to move into the Bundy School located on the 400 Block of O Street in Shaw. (That move is long delayed, leaving Bundy vacant, to the frustration of neighborhood residents). Now, Central Union Mission has committed to provide emergency shelter for 150 men on the site for the next 40 years.

The Franklin School, located at 13th and K Street NW, is also part of this mix. The Franklin School, which provides emergency shelter to about 400 men downtown is viewed by just about all in the District, including homeless advocates, as not helping the homeless as it should. It lacks structure, services, or programming, and simply provides a free hotel at night and kicks everyone out into the parks and libraries during the day. The Franklin School is slated to close in October 2008, or whenever the new Central Union Mission and sufficient permanent supportive housing comes online.

The future of the historic Franklin School is uncertain. Two years ago, there was discussion of turning the building into a boutique hotel, a deal orchestrated by politically connected developer Herb Miller. That proposal ultimately got nixed, but that didn’t stop Mr. Miller from suing the District for cutting off the deal. Yesterday, the Washington Post reported that the District paid Mr. Miller’s Western Development $500,000 to settle the lawsuit. The planned use or disposition of the Franklin School is not addressed in the legislation pending before the DC Council. It will be an issue to watch very closely as the Gales School transfer moves forward to make sure that this historic public building is put to an appropriate use.

Documents of interest:
Office of the Mayor’s Analysis of Economic Factors, Disposition of Gales School Site
Gales School Disposition Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2008 (PR17-0898)
Gales School Disposition Emergency Approval Resolution of 2008 (PR17-0899)
Discussion of meeting I jointly coordinated among the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association and the Downtown Neighborhood Association, homeless advocates, and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development to further a dialog on homeless issues: MVSNA, campaign website, Mt. Vernon Triangle blog.

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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On June 30, I joined the Chinatown Revitalization Council as they discussed several issues of importance to the community. Participants discussed the impending sale of the Wah Luck House. I am closely monitoring the situation and has alerted the DC Tenants’ Advocacy Coalition (TENAC) to ensure that the elderly tenants’ rights are fully protected. Residents are in the process of forming a tenants association, a necessary step to exercising their rights to purchase the building. The CRC also announced that they will be having a walk through of Chinatown’s Friendship Arch, at 7th and H Streets NW, with government officials on Wednesday, July 2, at 3:30pm. The walk through stems from a meeting with Mayor Fenty in May at which the city pledged to make needed repairs to the arch. Finally, the group discussed the International Lantern Festival, for which I serve as co-chair, a new event planned for DC tentatively for May 2009.

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On June 24, I joined the Penn Quarter Neighborhood Association, whose membership includes both area businesses and residents, for their monthly breakfast meeting with MPD Assistant Chief Diane Groomes and Jaleo owner José Andrés.

Issues raised with Chief Grooomes focused on the need to address quality-of-life offenses, such as tour buses idling in front of condos, drummers playing well into the night, and aggressive pan handling. Chief Groomes also noted the challenge of community policing in Police Service Area 101, which runs from 17th Street to Union Station.

I believe in a “broken windows” approach to policing and agrees with residents that rigorous enforcement is key to safer and more liveable, vibrant communities. I supported the original noise bill before it was stripped and passed as an empty shell by the DC Council. As Council Member, I pledge to provide the Penn Quarter community with its own Police Service Area and political representation, recognizing that it has evolved into a distinct neighborhood.

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Today was an interesting start for many Ward 2 residents. For me, the day began by getting a late start after waking up to find my alarm clock did not go off, a result of the electricity outage in my Mount Vernon Square neighborhood. By that time, I already had an e-mail from an irate Ward 2 resident who observed that although so many of the traffic lights were not functioning at busy intersections, during rush hour no less, he did not see any police or traffic officers directing traffic. I later learned reading the news today, that several pedestrians were in fact hit by cars as a result.

Halfway to work on the metro, I found myself stranded at Chinatown due to the (first) fire at Metro Center. The display screens in the metro station, which seem to always be up to date with the elevator outages around the city, today provided no information other than the expected arrival of the next train. Passengers struggled to make out the muffled announcements in the train and on the platform. Is Dupont Circle open or closed? Is service restored to Metro Center? When is service expected to resume?

As I exited and began my walk to work, fire trucks and other emergency response vehicles began arriving for what was a second fire at the metro. Outside the metro station, I overheard this conversation, “No one knows what is going on. They are not telling us anything…”

In DC’s defense, the emergency/e-mail-cell phone alert system did work today, and I recommend signing up for it. In each case today, however, it confirmed the obvious. It told me there was a power outage when I had no electricity. It told me that there was a fire at Metro Center when I found myself stuck at Chinatown.

So what can the city do differently? Well, first, the city needs to have a plan for a quick response for this situation. If there is a power outage and traffic signals become nonoperational, the city needs to have people directing traffic at all significant intersections. In addition, the electronic signs in the metro stations need to provide useful information. Metro might also consider some way of improving the sound of its audio system, which is extremely difficult to understand. Finally, how do we avoid this happening again? Were these fires and power outages a result of crumbling infrastructure? Let’s invest our money the right way.

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I’ve found time and time again that those who fight hardest for Ward 2 residents are often members of the Council from other parts of the city or elected at-large. Today, was another perfect example.

First, the Council gutted the noise bill. The original bill would have placed reasonable restrictions on the volume of daytime noncommercial speech (i.e. people shouting into loud speakers) that goes on for prolonged periods, intruding into people’s homes and places of work. DC has absolutely no limit, unlike any other major city, and what was originally proposed was still more lenient than places like New York City. An amendment proposed by Council Member Harry Thomas (D-Ward 5), which was essentially a rewrite of that proposed by Council Member Evans and defeated last month, passed 9-4 this time, after some unions ran radio ads threatening two members up for reelection, Kwame Brown (D-At Large) and Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7). It raises the decibel level limit from 70 to 80 dB, restricts the limit to R-1 through R-4 zones (i.e. there is no limit for areas in which there are large apartment buildings or downtown), and changes the place of measurement to inside the home rather than 50 feet from the noise.

Those fighting for Ward 2 on the noise bill included Council Members Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), David Catania (I-At-Large), and Carol Schwartz (R-At Large). While Ward 2 Council Member Jack Evans represented that he has never received a noise complaint from residents of his Ward that would be protected by the legislation, Catania and Cheh discussed a different reality. Catania, himself a Ward 2 resident, expressed outrage that the children of Stevens Elementary School (located in West End/Foggy Bottom) lost an entire semester of school because of a prolonged protest across the street by hired hands. Cheh suggested that Penn Quarter residents ask why they are being treated differently — why they get no protection in their community and in their homes, noting that, “just because [you] live in a mixed [residential / commercial] area, Penn Quarter residents will have to suffer from noise assaults.” Cheh noted that under the Evans’ supported amendment, the noise can go 7am-9pm every day, all day, no matter how long, how loud, how amplified — “you get no protection whatsoever, none.”
“Penn Quarter, I hope you are listening, you are being written off.”

–Council Member Mary Cheh (Ward 3), quoted in the Washington Post

Council Member Wells, who shares a portion of Penn Quarter with Ward 2, attempted to amend the Thomas amendment to restore some protection for downtown, but failed. In the end, Cheh and Wells, the primary sponsors of the bill, voted against the do-nothing legislation.

Lost in all the noise over the noise bill were two very other important quality of life proposals on the Council’s Tuesday agenda: single sales of alcoholic beverages and vacant property.

The Council passed a ban on the sale of single alcoholic beverages for Wards 4, 7, and 8, with Council Member Wells pledging to add the entirety of Ward 6, which already has a partial ban, at the next meeting. Council Member Evans, spurred by the action of his colleagues, has after 17 years of complaints from neighborhoods residents, committed to proposing a similar ban for Ward 2. But his proposed ban, yet to be introduced, will cover only two Advisory Neighborhood Commission areas, Logan Circle (ANC 2F) and Shaw/Mt. Vernon/Penn/Chinatown Quarter (ANC 2C). Residents of Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom/West End, Georgetown, and downtown should prepare to see more public intoxication, public urination, aggressive panhandling and trash, as those who cannot get a cheap drink in more than half of the rest of the city (Ward 1 already has a partial ban) find your corner and liquor stores.

Finally, the Council took on long-delayed legislation designed to move owners of vacant property to put their property to productive use. The legislation increases the vacant property tax rate from about 5x the regular occupied rate for residential property to 10x, while eliminating many of the loopholes that allowed derelict owners and speculators to avoid the higher rate for decades. It was Council Member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) who sought to fight off a series of 11th hour amendments that would have placed some of those exemptions back in the law and created a few new ones. That included a complete exemption on properties within the central business district proposed by Council Member Evans. It was withdrawn when it came under fire from Graham and Council Member Barry (D-Ward 8). Council Member Evans also proposed an amendment to increase the period of time before the higher rate sets in from 1 year (existing law) to 2 years and for residential property to 1 year (same as existing law, but the bill would have reduce dit to 8 months). That proposal passed. Another Evans proposal, to restore a loophole providing a 24-month exemption for properties under a deed of trust, was removed after Graham objected.

Graham also attempted to fight off, with some success, amendments proposed to allow the Mayor to single handedly exempt properties (passed subject to renewal by Mayor every 24 months), to exempt newly constructed buildings (passed limited to 4 years), and to require government inspectors evaluating whether a property is indeed vacant to consider the owner’s alleged “intent” to return.

It’s time we had a Ward 2 Council Member who places his constituents before developers, unions, and other special interests. By the way, what happened to the idea of creating a livable downtown? With the carving out of downtown from the noise bill and an attempt to take the central business district out of the vacant property protections, residents should be very concerned.

What people are saying about the noise bill’s silencing (no one is happy):
Quest for Quiet blog
PQ Living blog
Greater Greater Washington blog
DCist
DC Wire blog
The Express
Washington Post

(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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Does it bother you too?

The DC Council is now apparently developing legislation to allocate $150 million of public funds to building a soccer stadium. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to see a new soccer stadium in the District. In fact, this year, I got together a group of friends to go to a DC United game on my birthday.

But $150 million in public money for construction costs?

This is on top of the $800 million spent on the baseball stadium and reports that my opponent is now pushing for a new football stadium for the Redskins.

Sure, let’s support owners who will make an investment in DC by locating here by improving the infrastructure to make it happen — expanding metro capacity and upgrading stations, repaving streets and reorganizing traffic flow, installing new sidewalks and street lighting, developing new bus routes — everything that is needed to make it safe, easy, and enjoyable to go to a game. But paying for construction for a private business, that’s where I would draw the line. I’d like to open a nice deli, but I’m not asking the DC government to build me a store.

Just last night, I organized a meeting with government officials and about two dozen downtown residents to develop a plan for improving a long neglected and forgotten neighborhood park, one of many in the District. The circle center of the park was filled with cardboard boxes of those who had made the park a semi-permanent home. The park reminds me of ancient ruins I explored on a recent visit to Israel — stones around the perimeter have crumbled and are in disarray, the sidewalks are grown over with weeds and grass, remnants of light fixtures of a time past line the park. Residents avoid the area, which is between Union Station and the Convention Center, the gateway to downtown, because they do not feel safe. Of course, the question of the night was where will the city find the money for renovating the park when they can’t even seem to maintain it? Well, when it comes to a few hundred million here and there for stadiums, finding money seems to be no problem. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Professional sports teams get money for stadium construction and luxury boxes. Residents scramble to organize clean ups to make the filth of neighborhood parks bareable. Kids are left on the streets.

It’s time to tell the DC Council that we expect a change in priorities. Before the city spends $150 million on construction costs for another stadium, let’s see it adequately maintain and renovate every single one of our neighborhood parks so that they can be used by residents and their children. Before the city provides another multimillion dollar giveaway for a ballpark, let’s see the city provide enough funding to keep its recreation centers open on weekends. Before the city writes that next big check to a wealthy sports team, let’s see it find the money to give significant tax relief to struggling small businesses.

(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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“Oh, be fair.” That is the response I received from DDOT Director Emeka C. Moneme in a public meeting of the Downtown Neighborhood Association last week. A Penn Quarter resident had informed Director Moneme that he had noticed walk signs swinging to face the wrong direction around town. Just call 311 was the response and we’ll send someone out to fix it. Then I thought of the Ward 2 resident I met at Whole Foods, and ran into again in Foggy Bottom, who told me how he had three times called in the same problem at a very busy intersection in Georgetown where he lives and works. Each time, the DDOT contractor came out and it was broken again within days. I told Director Moneme that he should be aware that some of his contractors are doing a “shoddy job.” Ward 2 Transportation Planner Christopher Ziemann then chimed in with some helpful advice: residents can fix the crosswalk signs themselves. Perhaps with a broomstick, you may be able to swing the pedestrian walk signs back into place.

Brick sidewalks. They look nice, but why can’t DDOT maintain them? A few weeks ago, a Foggy Bottom resident suggested that residents with wheel chairs use the streets rather than the sidewalks, because of the hazardous missing bricks. Well folks, here’s your answer. According to Mr. Zeimann, DDOT only has a single brick masonry crew for the entire city. That means that you are lucky to get asphalt to cover those holes until the crew gets around to you.

Light timing. You can literally walk across some areas of the city faster than attempting to drive or take a cab. From red light to red light you go, for miles at a time. Why? Wasted gas, wasted money, wasted time, unnecessary congestion. Fix it.

Fixing What Isn’t Broken. There’s so many dangerous intersections to fix, sidewalks to mend, walk lights facing the wrong way, and crosswalks to paint that you might think DDOT has its hands full. There’s also unfulfilled plans that might actually do some good if implemented, such as the New York Avenue Corridor Study and the Mount Vernon Triangle Transportation and Public Realm Project. Those sit on a shelf or in a file cabinet. Instead, the agency seems to repeatedly undertake efforts that leave residents fighting to ensure that the District’s congestion and pedestrian safety don’t get worse. A few recent or ongoing cases in point:
This week, after vigorous discussion and opposition on the Georgetown Forum, DDOT decided against plans to reverse the traffic flow on 33rd Street NW. As a former resident of 33rd Street, I know this was an obvious bad idea.
About two months ago, DDOT proposed eliminating a portion of The Circulator route that serves those who live and work along Wisconsin Avenue. After strong opposition from the Georgetown Advisory Neighborhood Commission and Citizens Association of Georgetown, DDOT abandoned that plan.
In Logan Circle, residents are very concerned about a DDOT proposal to make 15th Street (which currently is one-way heading northbound) into a two-way street.
DDOT, with the support of my opponent, has repeatedly studied the feasibility of removing the Whitehurst Freeway, an expense The Georgetown Current called “ridiculous”, and has garnered strong opposition.

To be fair to DDOT, there are some positive initiatives underway. Finally, we are beginning to see less closed sidewalks as DDOT is beginning to require developers to use covered walkways and maintain pedestrian access during construction. It is about time. I’m also glad to see the smart bike program come online - it is a good environmentally-friendly and convenient idea.

Can we please get back to basics? As your Council Member, I will push DDOT to fulfill its core mission — that includes:
Doing whatever it takes to address the most dangerous intersections in the city;Ensuring that crosswalks are always highly visible and signage is immediately and properly fixed when broken;Moving forward with needed infrastructure improvements to address congestion and safety hazards;Installing traffic calming devices where needed and effective;Sidewalk and street repair; andEnhancing public transportation options.

In short, I want to see shovels and paint brushes, not paper, presentations, and unnecessary proposals.

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Legislation that would finally place a reasonable limit on noise in DC passed its first reading before the DC Council, after being amended to raise the permissible decibel limit to 80 in commercial areas, while keeping the original 70 decibels for residential neighborhoods on an 8-5 vote. My opponent voted against the bill, which will close a loophole that has allowed DC to be the only major city in the country with no restriction on daytime noise - outrageous!

I commend to you the pre-vote coverage of the Washington Post and Washington CityPaper, both of which document how Mr. Evans stormed out of a breakfast meeting to negotiate the bill with his colleagues on the Council in order to attend an event for the Washington Capitals. Clearly a model consensus builder. Oh, how those backward priorities resurface again and again.

The secret is also out of the bag as to how Council Member Evans plans to gut the bill: (1) raise the decibel limit to 80 in residential areas; (2) measure the noise from inside the residence; and (3) place the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs rather than the police in charge of enforcing the law. We all know how effective DCRA is at enforcing the law! So if you wake up in the morning and your house reminds you of Cafe Milano on a busy night, that should be ok, says Evans. Yes, he really said that.

The bill comes back before the Council on second reading next week. Watch for more mischief that undermines the right of residents to enjoy peace and quiet in their own homes.

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Last week, I attended a packed meeting at Stevens Elementary School in Foggy Bottom where about 80 parents, teachers, and staff were joined by Chancellor Michelle Rhee as they sought answers to what would happen to their kids, their teachers, and their programming with the school year ending days away.

First, a little background on Stevens. It’s not your average school. Located a 21st and K Streets, it has operated as a school continuously since 1868, when it served freed slaves. It’s the oldest school in operation in DC. Stevens current students are primarily “out-of-boundary,” meaning they are not zoned for the school but have chosen to come to Stevens either for convenience (close to parents’ work) or because it is known for its small class sizes and cohesiveness as a family.

As I’ve said before, I believe that the city needs to take drastic action to address low performance and the crisis of confidence in our ailing school system. School closings are inevitably a painful process, imposing hardship on children, parents, teachers, and school staff who are forced to adapt. That said, it is particularly important to make decisions in a deliberative manner, involving the community, and always putting the children and their education first.

Yet, I’ve been shocked when watching firsthand the disorganization of the school-closing process. I saw it at the “hearing” on whether to close Shaw Middle School at which a few community leaders but nearly zero parents or teachers testified, where the mic barely worked, and where a participant literally fell out of his seat in the hot auditorium as it broke from under him. In that instance, the result was an 11th hour politically-motivated decision to rhetorically close Garnet Patterson instead of Shaw. I say “rhetorically” because Shaw will in fact close this year and there are no plans in place for whether the school building will be renovated or rebuilt, where the money will come from, or a time frame for completion. It’s had no community forum to discuss it’s closure as schools have had in other Wards and now it will likely sit vacant for a long time. Well, this week, I saw the disorganization unfold again at Stevens. So on to the topic at hand.

Stevens parents have received nothing but confusion over the past months since they learned their kids would have to go somewhere else to school next year, and, as the school year comes to a close, teachers and staff have no idea where they will work in the fall. Parents were particularly incensed that this meeting was the first time Chancellor Rhee had visited their school. That’s right — she never saw the inside of the school before making the decision to close it.

Chancellor Rhee was able to provide some answers:

Francis Junior High School at 2425 N Street NW will become your school of right. So if you received a letter from Francis stating that your child was not accepted, wait listed, or tentative accepted, it was a mistake. You should not need to apply as an out-of-boundary school. If you received such a letter, contact Chancellor Rhee at 202-442-5004.
Francis should be on target to have an appropriate facility to serve young children by August. The city has received bids for a contractor, who will work feverishly over the summer.
Stevens’ parents, teachers, and staff will, at some point, have an opportunity to communicate with the city and contractor re: the Francis renovation plans so that it best serves their teaching and programming needs. For more information, contact Anthony DeGuzman at 202-684-5051.
Ms. Wilkinson’s before and aftercare program will continue at the current rate and with the same service.

Some questions Chancellor Rhee was not able to answer:
Which Stevens’ teachers will move to Francis? Teachers will apparently need to reapply for vacancies at Francis. They can also accept a buy out or apply for new positions, such as literacy counselors. Chancellor Rhee stated that DCPS and the teacher’s union needs to worked out transfers to Francis and she committed to work with the union to move all Stevens teachers who would like to continue there. Odd, however, that Chancellor Rhee and the vice president of the union had apparently not communicated and addressed this key issue before and were literally debating the provisions of the teachers’ contract in the public meeting.
Which administrators and support staff will move?
How many Stevens students will actually move to Francis? Since parents do not know whether their students’ teachers, administrators, and programs will continue at Francis, some have already made alternative arrangements.
What will happen to the school building? Chancellor Rhee repeatedly avoided the issue and then referred such questions to Neil Albert, the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development. Parents, teachers, and residents expressed dismay that the historic school is being treated differently from other schools because it is prime downtown real estate. Some feared it would be sold off for condos. There are also rumors of a lease to the Corcoran. ANC Commissioner Florence Harmon, who has worked hard to fight for Stevens, has announced that there is a DC Preservation Board meeting at Stevens on May 13 at 12:30pm to discuss this issue. The Advisory Neighborhood Commission will also discuss the future of the school building on May 21 at 6:30pm.
What uniforms will the students wear? This is an issue to be addressed by a transition team over the summer. Chancellor Rhee did commit to there being some fund in place to assist parents in purchasing new uniforms.
Will safety measures be in place for students walking from the Foggy Bottom and Farragut West metro stations through busy downtown intersections? Many students at Stevens are “out-of-boundary,” making this a particular concern.
How will moving Stevens students into Francis, which is mandated to restructure due to low test scores, work? Is this fair to Stevens’ students?

Parents and teachers spoke passionately about the school as a family, about the personal attention provided to their children, and about how the closure will disrupt their childrens’ lives. They also expressed extreme skepticism about the motivation for the closure — suggesting that that school’s prime location and potential for profit explained why it is being treated differently than other schools. They pleaded for a one-year extension on the closure, both to have a more orderly transition as well as to make their case that the school should remain open.

(No Ratings Yet)

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