Charter School's Doors Kept Shut

Capitol Hill Neighborhood Fights for Zoning Law Changes

Signs protesting the establishment of a charter school branch dot yards along 12th Street NE. (By James A. Parcell -- The Washington Post)

The Capitol Hill property was spacious with natural light and a large back yard that could be converted into a playground or garden. When Russ Williams saw the building on 12th Street NE last summer, he thought he had found the perfect expansion location for Appletree, an early learning charter school already thriving in Southwest.

But neighbors saw the proposed school as a magnet for noise and traffic and expressed their opposition in the signs that still dot the lawns of their brick rowhouses more than a year later: "Stop Appletree on 12th."

The Capitol Hill location, which was to have opened last month with 54 preschoolers and pre-kindergartners, is instead bogged down in a zoning dispute. At issue is whether charter schools share the same right as the city's traditional public schools to open in residential neighborhoods without formal input from those who live there. The Zoning Commission is scheduled to take a final vote tonight.

Margaret Holwill and other members of the nonprofit Northeast Neighbors for Responsible Growth challenge what they say is the brazen ability of charter schools to locate where they choose without regard for the community.

"There has to be some accountability," said Holwill, whose house shares an alley with the rear entrance of the proposed school. "The D.C. Public Charter Board is willing to approve a charter without a location, and when a school finally does find someplace, they can just go back to the board quietly and get approval. There's no public notice."

Thomas A. Nida, president of the seven-member, appointed charter board, said it publicly reviews charter applications and expansions at its monthly meetings. And although each charter school is independent and can decide how much to reach out to neighbors, Nida said the board looks for demonstrated community input and support when granting charters or expansion requests.

"If we think there is a need to review our process to line up and fill other gaps, or zoning gaps, then that's something we'll take a look at," Nida said.

Neighbors took their concerns about Appletree to city zoning officials last year, who found there was no zoning precedent for charter schools. Zoning regulations dated to the 1950s, while charter schools -- which are publicly funded and open to students citywide -- began in the District in 1996.

City planning officials proposed expanding the definition of public schools to include charter schools. They also proposed increased minimum size requirements for public school buildings in some residential areas. For example, the minimum lot width for a public school would grow from 75 feet to 120 feet. The zoning commission adopted the changes on a temporary basis in February; tonight, it will consider making them permanent.

The new regulations would not apply to schools or day-care centers with 16 or fewer students. If an affected school could not meet the new requirements, it could apply for an exemption.

"We realized that if we are going to allow charter schools to operate as a matter of right, we should at least impose some minimum standards on all public schools," said Ellen McCarthy, director of the Office of Planning.

McCarthy said city planners worked with education officials on the proposal, but Nida and other charter school officials said they were not consulted. Robert Cane, executive director of the charter advocacy group Friends of Choice in Urban Schools, said the regulations would make it more difficult for charter schools to find suitable buildings in a competitive real estate market.

D.C. School Superintendent Clifford B. Janey, concerned about any restrictions on his authority over school buildings, last week said that he wasn't consulted, either. In a letter, he asked the Zoning Commission to delay a final vote until he can review the proposal.

At its Southwest waterfront location in a church basement, the Appletree school places an emphasis on reading and math skills to prepare 3- and 4-year-old children for kindergarten. Looking to open a second site, the nonprofit Appletree Institute for Education Innovation paid $1.5 million for the two-story Capitol Hill building in July 2005 and began working with an architect on the renovation. The building once housed offices and was a meeting place for a men's association.

Williams, Appletree's managing director, said school officials worked for months with a local historic preservation group, spoke with residents at advisory neighborhood meetings to share their plans and hired an intermediary to help them reach out to the community. Williams said he is not against the desire by city officials to create new zoning rules but said the changes were quickly adopted on a temporary basis to appease a special-interest group.

"It was a rushed job designed to stop a particular project in the city, and that's not the way things should be done," Williams said.

In the meantime, the school plans to open a branch next month in the Fort Dupont area of Southeast. Williams received approval from the charter board last week to work with the city's Department of Parks and Recreation to open the school at the Benning Stoddert Recreation Center. Details are being worked out, but the school plans to have 36 students.

"Twelfth Street has been somewhat of a distraction," Williams told the charter board, "but it is important we see it through."