Thousands of District of Columbia Public School students could return to classrooms without air conditioning when the new academic year starts Aug. 27, Office of Facilities Modernization Director Allen Lew told The Examiner.

Lew said he was still determining how widespread air conditioning problems are and would work to get window units ordered and installed as quickly as possible.

“We could be talking about thousands of window units [that need to be ordered],” Lew said.

This is another example of the toll that neglect has taken on the system’s 144 public schools, Lew said.

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Lew, who was handpicked by Mayor Adrian Fenty to lead the fledgling modernization office in June, has spent his first weeks on the job prioritizing immediate needs. Insufficient planning for a “blitz” program intended to address the most pressing repairs before the start of school has meant that work will continue through the academic year, Lew said. He will give an update on school repairs at a news conference next week, he said.

It was too early to say how much the air conditioners would cost, Lew said. Contingency cash reserves will be used to pay for them, said Maryann Young, a spokeswoman for Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi.

There will be additional challenges once the air conditioners arrive.

“A lot of the schools are so old, you just can’t put 30 new air conditioner units in a school,” Lew said. “You have to get Pepco to come and give more juice, and then you also have to rewire things inside so when you turn [air conditioners] on, it doesn’t sizzle everything.”

Some of the 49 facilities being used for summer programs are among those with cooling problems, Lew said. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee said she would develop temporary solutions as necessary so children can attend class in air-conditioned rooms.

cmabeus@dcexaminer.com