'Call of Action' in support of Jewish school

Republican Friends,

On Nov 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Hearing Room (100 Maryland Ave, Rockville), I need to ask you to consider a call to action in support of the Jewish community against Montgomery County's perfectly Democrat county council. In 1998 a man by the name of Dennis Berman bought a building in Aspen Hill (near Rockville) and personally renovated it to make it a pre-K through high school for Montgomery County's Jewish students.

From what I understand, the building had 5 previous contracts on it but all of them fell through because the earlier buyers could not field the costs to renovate the building. (It was an old high school that was abandoned 14 years previous and had since become a hangout for gangs. Graffiti and alcohol bottles were everywhere. Windows were smashed, walls were broken through, and the roof of the auditorium had collapsed. Nevertheless, the Berman family raised millions and gave millions to renovate the school and make it a safe and viable place for education once again.

This removed a local gang problem and raised property values in Aspen Hill considerably. This is the good news. The bad news is that Duchy Trachtenberg, in one of her last moves before she was voted off of county council, was to move against the original lease-to-purchase agreement approved by the county council when making this deal. Which was good for Montgomery County in terms of revenue and crime reduction.

Now, because of this, the county council is calling a public forum to hear from Montgomery County residents regarding this matter. The case being considered is that the MC School Board is lobbying the MC County Council to take the school back, as is, without payment for all the money (10's of millions) that went into fixing the school or any other form of compensation. This is an injustice that the Jewish community is suffering and we're looking for our friends to attend the meeting and stand with Montgomery County's Orthodox community.

The meeting will be held on Nov 23, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Hearing Room (100 Maryland Ave, Rockville). Busses are available to transport participants from the Melvin J. Berman Academy to the county council meeting. You can register here for the bus if you'd like to take advantage of it: http://www.mjbha.org/About_MJBHA/Proposed_MJBHA_Purchase_/Council_Meeting_Bus_Resistration.cfm

Thank you for your consideration!

Moshe

PS. It is rare that I appeal to the larger Montgomery County community on behalf of the Jewish community but this is an issue that is going to have lasting impact on the Orthodox community and is an injustice in the county that shouldn't be ignored.

SOURCE: Moshe Starkman