The Dupont Current
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Vol. XV, No. 39
Serving Dupont Circle, Kalorama, Adams Morgan & Logan Circle
Ward 3 crowding prompts review
POLISH PASTRIES
■ Schools: Lack of capacity
needs addressing, officials say By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
D.C.’s population has risen significantly over the past decade, and most observers agree that the city’s school system has improved overall. But with the confluence of these two factors, many schools
now face a conundrum: finding room for an influx of new students in buildings with limited space. The challenge is particularly acute in Ward 3. According to new data from D.C. Public Schools, projected enrollment will exceed building capacity this fall in all of the ward’s public elementary, middle and high schools except for Hearst Elementary, which will be overfilled no later than fall 2020. Lafayette and Hardy weren’t
included in the data because they’re located outside the ward, although their districts include sections of Ward 3. School communities are already feeling the impacts of overcrowding, and at a meeting of the Ward 3-Wilson Feeder Education Network last Thursday, Ward 3 D.C. Council member Mary Cheh vowed to team up with parents and Ward 3 State Board of See Schools/Page 5
Parents seek Francis-Stevens upgrades By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
Susann Shin/The Current
The Kosciuszko Foundation, which operates a Polish cultural center in Dupont Circle, celebrated Fat Thursday by selling glazed and powdered-sugar paczki. The group passed out 600 doughnuts to local residents and workers.
Parents at School Without Walls at Francis-Stevens have been clamoring since 2013 for millions of dollars in upgrades to the school building, part of which dates back to 1922. Some renovations have already taken place, but more remains to be done on the gym and auditorium. Meanwhile, leaks and temperature fluctuations continue to hamper daily instruction at the West End school, which serves pre-K through eighth-grade students. The city’s D.C. Council-approved fiscal year 2017 budget includes $2.5 million to address some of those issues — but as the fiscal year’s halfway mark approaches, parents say they don’t have clarity from D.C. Public Schools and the Department of General Services on how or when those funds will be spent. The school system is set to discuss plans in more See Funding/Page 7
Brian Kapur/The Current
It’s not clear how officials will spend $2.5 million earmarked for School Without Walls at FrancisStevens, located at 2425 N St. NW.
Critics question utility of proposed gondola
Agency vows to investigate Soapstone Creek pollution
By MARK LIEBERMAN
■ Environment: Neighbors’
Current Staff Writer
Advocates for a gondola system across the Potomac River between Georgetown and Rosslyn are continuing to make their case despite a recent funding setback in Virginia and some reservations from Georgetown neighborhood leaders. The Arlington County Board announced on Feb. 10 that it won’t provide further funds for the Georgetown Business Improvement District project, which has an estimated cost of up to $90 million. Board chair Jay Fisette wrote in a letter to the gondola study committee that his team needs to focus on more pressing transportation issues in the area and doesn’t currently see the gondola as a worthwhile investment. Meanwhile, the Citizens Association of George-
complaints prompt inquiry
Rendering courtesy of Georgetown BID
If constructed, the gondola would link Georgetown to Rosslyn, Va., alongside the Key Bridge.
town and Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E (Georgetown, Burleith) have offered tentative support for further research on the project’s merits. But at an ANC 2E meeting Monday, several commissioners expressed concerns about the possibility that the gondola could funnel Georgetown’s customers to Virginia, away from neighborhood businesses. ANC 2E voted unanimously in support of further See Gondola/Page 18
By CUNEYT DIL
Current Correspondent
Responding to neighbors’ requests, the District is taking new steps to monitor pollution and water quality levels at Soapstone Valley Creek in Forest Hills, which has a history of E. coli contamination and frequent troubles from stormwater overflows. The D.C. Department of Energy & Environment will search for sources of pollution in the 400-
acre watershed that flows into Soapstone Creek, which in turn flows into Rock Creek. Joshua Rodriguez, from the agency’s Inspection and Enforcement Division, said at Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3F’s meeting last Tuesday that the goal is to eliminate pollution and take steps to restore the stream’s health. The source of Soapstone Creek is mainly rainfall that collects into stormwater pipes, then empties into the stream. Pollution becomes a problem when this stormwater gathers debris and chemicals from the street. And with stormwater See Soapstone/Page 2
PASSAGES
SHOPPING & DINING
EVENTS
INDEX
‘Good at Heart’
Spreading its wings
Exhibits at Studio
Calendar/20 Classifieds/29 District Digest/4 Dupont Circle Citizen/11 In Your Neighborhood/16 Northwest Passages/13
Chevy Chase author’s debut novel reflects on her family’s Nazi ancestry / Page 13
Longtime family-owned boutique Phoenix reopens after renovation, expansion / Page 19
Gallery to open shows depicting objects’ details, exploring the complexity of tai chi / Page 21
Opinion/8 Police Report/6 Real Estate/15 School Dispatches/13 Service Directory/27 Shopping & Dining/19
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