Take a few minutes to record models and serial numbers of your various electronic equipment. It comes in handy if something is stolen. For some crimes you can report online at:
Our school is at a critical crossroads and we need your help.
We signed the lease agreement with the county for our building 13 years ago. The property, formerly used by Montgomery County Public Schools as Peary High School, had been abandoned and neglected for 14 years, and was in complete and utter disrepair. It took two years of major renovations and almost $9 million to turn the dilapidated, gang-controlled, illicitly used building into our proud new home. To see photos of the renovation process, please visit http://www.mjbha.org/Media/album.cfm?AlbumID=279&fID=825
The agreement the school made with Montgomery County gave us a 25-year lease and an option to buy at virtually any time. As the years went on, we grew increasingly comfortable in our building, and we developed strong relationships with our Aspen Hill neighbors, many of whom took advantage of our beautiful, clean, safe new campus for meetings and for a multitude of sporting events.
Shortly after we moved into the building, we sought to exercise our option to purchase. The sale required approval from the Montgomery County Council, but the contract stipulated that such approval could not be unreasonably refused. But one delay has followed another, and the purchase price goes up every year.
The Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy has been an excellent neighbor, and we feel at home in Aspen Hill. We deserve to be recognized for the positive ways we have contributed to the community. We very much appreciate the support of County Executive Ike Leggett and Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg, who have spearheaded this effort and we are hopeful the rest of the Council reaches the same conclusion very soon.
We need 100% participation in the effort to persuade the Montgomery County Council to be fair and honor its agreement. Therefore, we are asking every supporter of MJBHA to:
1. Please call, e-mail and write to council members and County Executive Leggett to demonstrate your support. You will find council members’ contact information below.
2. Join us at the public hearing:
Tuesday, November 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Council Hearing Room
100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville MD
Suggested points to raise in your communications with council members:
· MJBHA has been an anchor in helping to revitalize the Aspen Hill community. Neighborhood property values, which had been steadily decreasing before MJBHA renovated and moved in, began to stabilize and increase.
· MJBHA has been a good neighbor and made itself available for public use. MJBHA will continue to maintain the property and the track, which is used regularly by neighborhood residents free of charge, in good condition and at no cost to the county.
· MJBHA’s exercise of its option to purchase has long had the support of the Aspen Hill Civic Association.
· The purchase price of $1.9 million will provide the County with needed funds to support County programs.
· Although not required by the original lease, MJBHA has agreed that 1) the property will only be used as a school and 2) should the property be needed in the future as a public school, the County can reclaim it for a price that simply is intended to ensure that MJBHA recovers its investment (purchase price and improvements), no more.
It is fine for your letters, calls and e-mails to be short and to just include two or three key points that you think are most important. What matters most is that you call and write and that you be very positive in your comments.
We are hoping that the proposed sale will be called to a vote November 30. The more voices we have with us, the more likely the Council will realize the importance of this issue to not just Berman Hebrew Academy families, but to all Montgomery County residents who understand the value of diversity in education.
And if you finish calling and writing council members and persuading your friends and family to do the same, and you still want more to do, we would also love to have you write letters-to-the-editor of your local papers, and to comment online on stories already written. You will find information on how to do so below as well.
For more information about the purchase and why the Council should approve it, please visit:
http://www.mjbha.org/About_MJBHA/Proposed_MJBHA_Purchase_/Proposed_MJBHA_Purchase.cfm.
Thanks for your support. Together we can make this happen but we really do need everyone to join this effort.
Daphna F. Raskas, Ph.D., President
Joshua Levisohn, Ph.D., Headmaster
Behnam Dayanim, Esq., 1st Vice President
Larry Stern, Esq., Past President
Jennifer Zukerman, Development Director
Montgomery County Council members’ contact information:
To find your council member please go to: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/elections/enterstreet.cfm
· Roger Berliner, District 1 (Potomac):
o (240) 777-7828 * councilmember.berliner@montgomerycountymd.gov
· Mike Knapp, District 2 (Germantown):
o (240) 777-7955 * councilmember.knapp@montgomerycountymd.gov
· Phil Andrews, District 3 (Gaithersburg, Rockville, North Potomac):
o (240) 777-7906 * councilmember.andrews@montgomerycountymd.gov
· Nancy Navarro, District 4 (Kemp Mill, Aspen Hill, White Oak):
o (240) 777-7968 * councilmember.navarro@montgomerycountymd.gov
· Valerie Ervin, District 5 (Woodside, Chevy Chase):
o (240) 777-7960 * councilmember.ervin@montgomerycountymd.gov
· Marc Elrich, At-Large (All of Montgomery County)
o (240) 777-7966 * councilmember.elrich@montgomerycountymd.gov
· Nancy Floreen, At-Large (ALL of Montgomery County)
o (240) 777-7959 * councilmember.floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov
· George Leventhal, At-Large (ALL of Montgomery County)
o (240) 777-7811 * councilmember.leventhal@montgomerycountymd.gov
· Duchy Trachtenberg, At-Large (ALL of Montgomery County)
o (240) 777-7964 * Trachtenberg@montgomerycountymd.gov
Note: All written mail to any Council member can be addressed to the member and sent to:
100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD 20850
County Executive Ike Leggett:
· (240) 777-2500 * ocemail@montgomerycountymd.gov
· Executive Office Building, 101 Monroe Street, 2nd Floor, Rockville, MD 20850
How To write a letter- to the editor or post a comment online:
After you’ve written all your letters, made all your phone calls, and persuaded others to do the same, you can also opt to write a letter-to-the-editor or comment on a story already written.
When writing a letter-to-the-editor of a newspaper, the same rules apply at almost every newspaper – make yours like all the others. Not in terms of content, but of length and format. If the paper is not very clear about its format on its website letters page, look at ten or twenty of its most recently published letters. You will quickly see a limit to length (often no more than 200 words), a style in addressing the editor (such as “Dear Editor”), if your letter relates to something published in the paper – how you reference that article, and so on.
As with any communication, please take care to use the talking points but not to copy the talking points. This letter, as with all you write and say, must be in your own words, in your own voice. Otherwise, editors will see your letter as little more than a coordinated campaign that could have been achieved with pre-printed post cards.
Almost all papers these days allow you to submit a letter online or by email. This does not mean the letter is only for consideration to be published online; it’s just an easier way for both you and the paper to communicate. Here are several landing pages for writing letters to the Montgomery County Gazette, The Washington Post and the Washington Jewish Week. Don’t be discouraged if your letter isn’t published. The vast majority most papers receive aren’t. But it’s important editors see how important the issue is to you, just as it’s important council members see the same.
Some newspapers require you to register before entering their site or writing them. Most do not.
http://www.gazette.net/gazetteinfo/opinion.shtml
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/20/AR2007022000709.html
http://washingtonjewishweek.com/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=31&ArticleID=13740&TM=78805.54
Now, here are a few stories already written about the pending sale. Read them and look for a place to comment. Your comments will very likely be used.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/28/AR2010102806598.html
http://www.gazette.net/stories/10272010/damanew230041_32545.php
http://www.gazette.net/stories/11032010/montnew190552_32555.php
http://www.wtop.com/?sid=2096854&nid=25
http://washingtonjewishweek.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=13772&SectionID=57&SubSectionID=76&S=1