Friday, February 17, 2006

Seven Locks controversy timeline, 2001-2006

For a quick reference to the history of the Seven Locks scandal, the Potomac Almanac has provided readers with a timeline that shows how a 2001 plan to modernize Seven Locks Elementary School became a secretive plot to sell off school land and convert it into high-density housing projects.

The Almanac shows how MCPS officials excluded citizen input from the beginning. It shows how school Superintendent Jerry Weast agreed to get rid of school land despite overcrowding, and to move far beyond his official mandate to become involved in the development of high-density subsidized housing. The feature also notes Weast’s 2005 flip-flop where, in the face of near-total opposition from the Seven Locks PTA, he pledged not to recommend the surplus of the Seven Locks school.