All Signs Point to "Yes" for Peary Sale

Heading into its final hurdle, it looks like the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy has little in its way in an effort to buy the former Robert E. Peary High School from Montgomery County.

Members of the County Council's Education and Management and Fiscal Policy committees voted 4-1 on Monday in favor of a proposal that would have the private school purchase the 19-acre Aspen Hill campus for $1.9 million.

The Management and Fiscal Policy Committee comprises Chairwoman Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At large) of North Bethesda and councilwomen Valerie Ervin (D-Dist. 5) and Nancy Navarro (D-Dist. 4), both of Silver Spring.

Ervin chairs the Education Committee, which includes councilmen Philip M. Andrews and Michael J. Knapp as members. Andrews was the only member of either committee to vote against the sale.

The full council is scheduled to vote on the deal at 1:50 p.m. on Tuesday in Rockville.

The academy has occupied the former Montgomery County Public School site since 1996 when school leaders signed a lease that allowed the academy the right to purchase the then-vacant property.

The Academy has invested $9 million in renovations to the building, according to Behnam Dayanim, first vice president of the academy's board. Dayanim claims the academy started the process to buy the property in 2001.

"We are optimistic the full council will vote in favor of the purchase," he said on Monday. "We have the money on hand to make the purchase."

Opponents have argued that the county should retain the site to keep in MCPS inventory and that the price is too low.

If a vote on the sale goes on as scheduled it will be one of the final decisions Trachtenberg and Knapp make before a new council is sworn in on Dec. 6. Knapp (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown opted not to run for re-election. Trachtenberg lost her bid for re-election in the September primary. She is a strong proponent of the school sale.

"I was the one who first approached the executive branch to start the negotiation," Trachtenberg said of the deal that opponents have argued has moved too quickly. "I am very optimistic the sale terms will go through."

One of the terms in the pending sale would allow the county to buy back the property should MCPS need it.

Andrews hinted late Monday that he might try to amend the sale agreement. He would not discuss specifics of those potential amendments.

"Not at issue is that the academy has been an excellent tenant and neighbor. But that is not the issue that the council should vote on. The judgment is based on the long-term interest of the county," said Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg.

Andrews wants the county to retain the site to use as a temporary high school when other county high school sites undergo major renovations and modernizations.

He said he feels the deal was "rushed," saying he first learned of the academy's intention to buy the campus in late October.

"The County Executive's office may have been working on this for months but it failed to notify our school system or this council," Andrews said. "This issue should not be taken up by a lame duck council that is no longer accountable to the voters."