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Lew to head D.C. schools renovations
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From left to right, Allen Yew, new head of the Office of Facilities Modernization, and Gregory O’Dell, new chief executive officer of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, listen as Mayor Adrian Fenty talks about the future of both the D.C. schools and the sports commission at a news conference on the steps of the Wilson Building on Thursday.
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The responsibility for repairing and renovating the District’s crumbling public schools will be handed to a man with a reputation for delivering massive projects on time and on budget.
Allen Lew, chief executive officer of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, has won praise for guiding construction of the Washington Convention Center and the Washington Nationals’ new stadium. He will now be expected to do the same for the D.C. Public Schools as director of the new Office of Facilities Modernization.
“Every person in the District of Columbia has their own nightmare of what has gone wrong with facilities and what needs to be improved,” Mayor Adrian Fenty said Thursday during a news conference on the steps of the John A. Wilson Building.
And Lew, Fenty said, is the best person for the job. His responsibilities will include managing the renovation, repairs and maintenance of school buildings, in addition to advising Fenty on which schools to close.
“He knows how to cut through it all and get the job done,” Ward 2 D.C. Council Member Jack Evans said. “Not a man of a lot of words, but a man of action who knows how to get it done and just pushes the project.”
The ultimate direction of the city’s $2.3 billion school modernization program will “reflect the dialogue we have with the community,” Lew said. Right away, he said, he will fix the “unacceptable condition” of long waits for basic maintenance.
He will be paid $275,000 a year.
Gregory O’Dell, the chief development officer in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Planning, is Fenty’s pick to head the sports commission. He will be asked to finish what Lew started: completing the $611 million stadium by April 2008.
Before joining the D.C. government, O’Dell worked as a consultant on the convention center and the renovation of RFK Stadium.
mneibauer@dcexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
7:45 PM MST on Tue., Sep. 2, 2008 re: "Lew to head D.C. schools renovations"
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6:38 AM MST on Fri., Jun. 15, 2007
re: "Landrieu delaying school takeover bill in Senate"
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12:22 PM MST on Tue., Jun. 12, 2007
re: "Janey may lose out as Mayor Fenty takes over the city’s public schools"
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12:02 PM MST on Wed., Jun. 6, 2007
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9:46 AM MST on Tue., May. 22, 2007
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8:29 AM MST on Tue., May. 22, 2007
re: "Landrieu delaying school takeover bill in Senate"
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Examiner Reader said:
great, but now school is open: we still have no books, desks, computers to name a few things. As a teaching fellow in DC, things in my eyes have gone from bad to worse. I am here for the kids, but all one has to do is look at at how the staff feels about this, and well now we no longer teach; we teach to the tests.
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Examiner Reader said:
DC citizens against the Mayor's plan had plenty of time to communicate this to their elected representatives in the Council. They did not, and the Council voted for the plan. We don't second-guess council actions with referendums; those who want to are simply sore losers and should stop their negativity and start helping our school children.
221 agree | 230 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
If you want the full story on Janey you should look at his past failures and ask yourself why DC hired Janey. He has a history of failure as a Superintendent, and a history of being let go. Look at his past position in Rochester, NY and ask yourself why he was hired in DC.
219 agree | 240 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Let the mayor have a hand at DCPS; no one else has been able to fix it.
261 agree | 239 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Once the mayor details how the separation between the local and "state" functions will work, Landrieu will likely let the bill advance. She is not an obstructionist.
267 agree | 239 disagree
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Celia Bassols said:
I applaud Landrieu's delay of the Mayor's proposal. The mayor is running roughshod over DC citizens right to vote in a referendum to change the city charter and ignoring the need to carefully set up a student centered plan that will tackle adult illiteracy along with academic issues our children face. He is not talking to, or with, DCs education advocates and parents are not included in the process. That does not speak well of a mayor who is unhappy about citizens not having a vote in congress. Celia Bassols
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