Petition to Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh and Chancellor of DC Public Schools (DCPS) Dr. Lewis D. Ferebee from concerned Ward 3 citizens.

Maximize use of GDS facility for Foxhall’s one and only public school and preserve our precious Hardy recreation Park

Our community supports public schools. We support adding additional capacity for public school students in Ward 3, the decision to purchase the former Georgetown Day School (“GDS”), and the plan to re-open it as a new public school.

Our community does not, however, support building an additional new public school and demolishing Hardy recreation Park! Hardy Park is a treasured green space used by all members of our community - students, children, families, dog owners, pedestrians, fitness groups, new parents, seniors, athletes, as well as sports teams from across the city. What is more, the park is nearing the completion of a $5.7 million renovation.

There are obvious alternative options for addressing school capacity concerns that do not require the loss of a beloved park. These include using the $56 million appropriated for Foxhall Elementary School to expand capacity at the newly purchased GDS site; or sending the $40 million that was once appropriated for Key Elementary School and Stoddert Elementary School back to those schools for the previously planned expansions to address overcrowding.

Since DCPS has made no effort to identify alternative options; since the community has been given no say regarding the construction of a second new public school in Foxhall; since there has been no attempt to assess the impact of two public schools within the small Foxhall neighborhood (traffic, access to green spaces, student transport)…

We petition Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh and DCPS Chancellor Dr. Lewis D. Ferebee, as those responsible for this process, that:

• The current DCPS community engagement process (including the survey on Foxhall and MacArthur Planning) be reframed to include the critical issue of whether or not a new school should be built. It is not acceptable for the current process to present the construction of this second school in Hardy Park as a ‘done deal’ and to give citizens no opportunity to voice their objection.
• The GDS facility be used (and expanded as necessary) for the only new Public School in the Foxhall area.
• DCPS follow a transparent and evidence-based process to consider other solutions for addressing the school overcrowding in Ward 3.

We are encouraging those who agree with this petition to sign it AND email our Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh <MCheh@dccouncil.us> to voice their concerns directly.

Please note: We are not currently in need of donations.