Charters shell out to renovate long-vacant D.C. school buildings

With its students divided among three campuses on 16th Street Northwest — sharing facilities with churches on two — it’s easy to understand why Washington Latin Public Charter School is eager to lease a former D.C. public school.

The top-performing charter school is spending $23 million to move into Rudolph Elementary, vacant since it was closed in 2008 under then-D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, said Martha Cutts, Washington Latin’s head of school. While part of the cost comes from plans to add a gym, library and theater, the rest is the result of the school falling into disrepair while it sat empty.