ANC 3E Monthly Meeting

Reconstruction on Janney Elementary School is predicted to last until next August, representatives of OPEFM (Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization) said at ANC 3E’s community update meeting last night, while parents and neighbors expressed their concerns.
OPEFM was created in 2007 for the purpose of modernizing DC Public School facilities. OPEFM states on their website that their mission is “to provide the children of the District of Columbia with safe, healthy and technologically current environments for learning.”

Last night they presented their development plan for the modernization of Janney Elementary School, located in Northwest DC.

They plan on adding 41,000 square feet of new space, including a gym, media center, terrace and classrooms. OPEFM plans on refurbishing floors and walls, as well. Janney Elementary School is the highest enrolled school in DC, so the expansion to the school will be an “addition very much needed,” program manager of the reconstruction Mel Butler, Jr. said.

Butler said they want the design and aesthetic of the building to be “very fresh and clean, and provide a clean backdrop for what the kids might put on the walls.” In the media center, the carpeted floor will have the design of a tree on it, weaving between colored, organic shapes. The design is an homage to the school’s symbol, the Janney Oak Tree, which was cut down recently due to age.

Despite the excitement of the new school, however, some residents voiced their concerns with the expansion. “There’s no buffer,” said a woman, whose home borders the school’s soccer field. She and a neighbor complained that the noise from soccer games on weekend mornings is too loud.

Councilman Sam Serebin challenged these complaints, questioning how bad the sound really can be.

“I wish you could hear the sound,” one said to the council, “it’s extraordinarily loud.” She said that her kids played soccer and she has no problem with people playing it nearby, but the lack of distance and the cheering so early in the morning, she said, is too much. “These are our homes. Kids come and go, teachers come and go, but this is our life.”

“I’m not persuaded [this is] an unmanageable situation,” Chairman Matthew Frumin said. He said that maybe games can start later, but the discussion, which was becoming a bickering match, would need to be postponed until another date.

Another resident and parent of a Janney student complained that the construction, which has already begun, has forced children to play in the parking lot, and said she’s already heard of one kid receiving a concussion. Chuck Guntner, the project’s construction manager, said that he would take that into consideration. Butler added, “most of the play area will be in the existing green spaces.”
Frumin said that American University has offered their fields on Tenley Campus as space for Janney students to play.

Security was also a concern for many residents. “We see people on the property all night long,” said one resident, “We’ve called the police several times.” Butler said that since construction began 66 cameras have been installed around “all corners of the building.” A police car is also stationed by the school every day and patrols the area, he said.

People are also concerned about the environmental impact of Janney’s modernization. People wanted to know how air quality will be effected, if traffic and noise level will increase.

Butler put the second two concerns to rest, saying, “at the end of the day, we’re not increasing enrollment much at all.” The modernization of Janney Elementary School is intended to open up space for current students, not to increase the amount of students. How air quality will be effected was left unaddressed.

“One of the good things about the modernization program is that we provide capacity,” Director of Communication at OPEFM Tony Robinson said. There are about 480 students enrolled at Janney Elementary School right now.

In addition to Janney Elementary School, the council raised the proposal to have the N8 bus route changed. “It’s the least utilized route in the city,” said Melissa Sherrill, who lives right on the route. She and others complained that the bus created unwanted and unnecessary noise in a residential area and that not enough people use it to justify cutting through neighborhoods.

“The bus could just as easily follow Massachusetts [Avenue] and Nebraska,” Sherrill said. Sherrill said that she has two kids and worries about buses in the street being unable to stop in time. This issue was also set to be reconsidered at a later date.

The new head of Georgetown Day School, Russell Shaw, came to the meeting to introduce himself to the community. He said that the school will be celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, but was surprised when he received scrutiny from a resident.

The resident complained that parents of Georgetown Day School students were parking their cars at Safeway, making shopping difficult for customers. She also complained about a school dance held last spring that resulted in massive traffic congestion on Wisconsin Avenue due to the amount of kids who attended.

Shaw thanked her for bringing it to his attention and said that tickets for the next dance will be limited, so the problem shouldn’t happen again.

Cultural Tourism DC, a group devoted to celebrating and keeping alive DC’s cultural history, is going to create a heritage trail in DC’s Tenleytown. The trail will be launched at 1 p.m. on November 13.