Schools say they’re ready

School officials across the Washington area said they will be prepared for their first days of school this week even if it’s considered to be at the “last minute” for some.

D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty on Friday deflected criticism of moving slowly on school repairs by saying all 123 school buildings will be open for the first day of classes.

Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and school facilities director Allen Y. Lew said most schools are ready and crews have been working around the clock to put the finishing touches on four schools that fell behind schedule on repairs two weeks ago.

“We’re not sleeping at the wheel,” Mr. Lew at said a news conference at Wilkinson Elementary School in Southeast. “There are some challenges.”

Mr. Lew said the four schools - Draper Elementary School, Hugh M. Browne Junior High School, Eliot Middle School and Anacostia Senior High School - will open Monday, though some additional work on the schools may have to be done after school hours.

Mr. Lew said the District spent about $200 million over the summer to perform more than 10,000 work orders and what Mr. Fenty called a “decade’s worth of work.”

Mr. Lew said he hired additional contractors at Eliot and Browne, and at the now-ready Bunker Hill Elementary School to expedite the work.

Mrs. Rhee said working on the schools was among the first steps to turning around the troubled 48,000-student school system.

“If you know anything about the schools system, you know students were expected to work and learn in absolutely decrepit buildings,” Mrs. Rhee said. “That’s unacceptable.”

Mr. Fenty earlier in the week praised Mr. Lew despite criticism by some parents and education advocates who said schools did not appear close to being ready.

Mrs. Rhee said that textbook orders, a perennial problem for the system, had been filled at all except one school - Oyster Elementary, where her children are enrolled. Last year, poor management of the school’s textbook warehouse left staff scrambling at the last minute to supply the schools.

Mrs. Rhee has also taken steps citywide to remind parents when school starts after thousands of students skipped the first week of school last year.

The Washington Times reported that 20 percent of students were absent the second day of class last year while other local school systems reported attendance rates of 95 percent or better.

Other local school systems, including Maryland’s two largest districts, in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, also said they are prepared for the big day.

Steve Simon, spokesman for Montgomery County public schools, said all 200 schools are ready after crews spent the summer completing 14 construction projects.

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