PROJECT SUMMARY
In 1993, the James F. Oyster Bilingual Public Elementary School was in danger of closure due to the city's financial crisis and a crumbling, inadequate building. The District of Columbia lacked the capital funds to renovate the nearly 70 year-old building to accommodate the educational needs of the school, meet the recreational needs of the community and comply with modern design standards and building codes.

Led by concerned parents and the school principal, the efforts to save the Oyster School began a nine-year quest that resulted in an innovative public-private partnership, a 48,000 square-foot building and an adjacent 211-unit apartment building. As the organization for the project became more focused, a school parent founded the 21st Century School Fund, a DC-based nonprofit, to keep the community’s vision alive.

The local community searched for alternative financing sources to improve the school facility, culminating in the formation of a public-private partnership between DC Public Schools, the District of Columbia and LCOR Incorporated, a national real estate development company. The partnership developed a unique solution that allowed the school to not only renovate but be housed in a completely new, state-of-the-art building, all at no cost to taxpayers. A residential apartment complex now shares the previously under-utilized, under-valued land on which the school is located.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The project objectives were clear: keep the school's nationally-acclaimed English/Spanish dual-language immersion program intact and modernize the building. Because of the District’s fiscal crisis in 1995, tax dollars were not available to meet these objectives, making alternate funding essential. Through the public-private partnership, an innovative funding arrangement created a new educational facility that exceeded the community’s expectations.

Project Description
Partners
The 21st Century School Fund, which works to build public support for modernizing urban public school facilities, organized public support for a partnership between the District of Columbia Public School District, which controlled the school and site utilization; the District of Columbia municipal government, which held title to the site and levies property tax; and a national real estate development firm that specialized in public-private development. In addition, the DC Public School Board was closely involved with the project to ensure coherence with the District’s long-range facility master plan.

Implementation Environment
The School District’s facilities plan called for the involvement of the educational staff and the expanded school community in the planning process. The development of the public-private partnership in the context of the school construction was regulated by the School Board's existing policy and administrative procedures. The unique approach to financing required the District to pass a legislative measure permitting a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOTS), which was essential to the project funding.

Financial Agreement
The passage of the PILOTS measure in combination with the District’s $11 million bond issuance financed the new school. Prior to construction, the District reassessed the Oyster School property and determined it was at a fraction of its value, despite its location in an affluent area. An underused portion of the property was sold to the developer, LCOR, at market rate for the development of a luxury apartment building. Via PILOTS, the developer’s annual payment of $804,000 will be put toward the repayment of the 35-year bond, an action that creates no general obligation from the District. Proceeds from the sale of the land funded a portion of the repayment as well.

Contract Provisions
In addition to the financial provisions outlined above, the contract stipulated a process for collaboration between the public and private partners that developed the design of the school to guarantee the proper level of oversight by the School Board and community involvement.

Implementation Metrics
The new school building is 47,158 square feet, with a computer lab, library, gym and classrooms designed to accommodate the school's bilingual program. The facility also includes office space for the after school programs and other spaces available for community use. The exterior play areas were reduced, but there is structured parking and more efficient use of the site.

Commentary
The new school project had the advantage of being in a very desirable neighborhood, which significantly increased the value of the land as an "under-utilized asset." This made the economics of the new apartment building sufficiently viable to benefit the private sector partner.

There was broad political support for this project and the Board of Education and District Council unanimously supported this project throughout its inception, planning and construction phases. The clear and decisive actions on the part of the School Board and Council in developing the project were equally important. One shortfall was the lack of legislation allowing this type of project from its inception, causing the process to slow. Since the development of the new Oyster Elementary School, policies have been put in place and a greater understanding of public private partnerships exists. The PILOTS authority will be a vital factor in future partnerships in the District.

The development and financing processes applied in this partnership are highly replicable. The state of Virginia used this project as a model in developing its own legislation entitled the Public Private Education and Infrastructure Act (PPEA). This legislation has been used to develop schools, public buildings and parking facilities throughout the Commonwealth.