SCHOOL DAYS, SCHOOL DAYS, WHAT HAPPENED TO DEAR OLD GOLDEN RULE DAYS?
Every time Cardell Shelton gets close to being awarded the Old Congress Heights Elementary School (OCHES), 3100 MLK. Jr., Ave., SE, the rules seem to change. About two years ago OCHES was for sale. DC Public School received several bids from the public, including Shelton’s. The school has not been sold yet. The mayor, school board and Control Board are having second thoughts about selling it. They have sold many of the closed schools, however, they have come to realize that if they sale all of their properties they will not have any buildings for their own use in the future. The first set of problems was the personnel changes within the DC Public School system. The changes kept occurring until a private real estate company took over. The bidders were told to team up and use the school for community purposes, in 30 days, or the contract would not be awarded. Shelton and Duane Gaitere, director of ARCH Training Center, are one group (before the partnership was underway, the partnership e
