Restore Shepherd Funding
- by: Simon Messing
- recipient: DC Council Chairman Mendelson
Dear Shepherd families,
This is an urgent request for your help in demanding that $12 million in funds be restored.
The DC Council’s Education Committee recently recommended that the funds allocated to Shepherd for modernization of the Gym and Cafeteria be redirected to other schools for other projects. In other words, after three years of ongoing construction, we’ll still have the same old cafeteria and the same old gym as before.
So what do we do now?
We are asking all Shepherd parents, community members, and other DC residents who are incensed at this unfair turn of events to sign our petition, and demand that they restore 12 million to the modernization budget of our school.
We must act quickly. The DC Council must hear Shepherd voices by Friday May 13th or this opportunity may be lost for good. Thank you for your commitment to our school.
Dear DC Council Chairman Mendelson,
I am extremely disappointed to see the Education Committee Budget Report from May 5th 2016, and see that the proposed DC Council Budget completely removed the funds for Shepherd’s Cafeteria and Gym.
Our current cafeteria has documented rodent problems, fire safety issues, OSHA violations, and requires the school to serve lunch in 3-4 shifts due to expanding enrollment. This leads to some students eating lunch for breakfast. Shepherd Elementary needs a full kitchen and expanded cafeteria to meet basic health and safety needs.
Moreover, the gymnasium is so small and in such poor shape that our Championship winning basketball team cannot play home games. The gymnasium floor was in such bad shape that the Shepherd PTA spent its own funds to provide an interim solution – a temporary floor on top of the old floor.
Finally, the auditorium does not adequately support the programming that makes the school so unique. The stage area in the auditorium is not accessible for individuals with mobility impairment. The sound system in the auditorium is unreliable and has delayed or required improvisation for countless Shepherd events, including an address by the United States Secretary of Transportation.
I urge you to restore funding for Shepherd ES modernization, so that we can complete the renovations that have been started. Do not let Shepherd remain with an incomplete, unsafe and unhealthy cafeteria, broken and inaccessible auditorium, and inadequate gymnasium.
Sincerely,
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