D.C. school facilities czar Allen Lew has promised to break ground on a new Woodson High School by early summer after nearly a decade in which local residents have sought an alternative to the poor conditions at the Eads Street school, officials said.

The construction project is beyond critical, said D.C. Council Member Yvette Alexander, Ward 7, who compared the dilapidated conditions at the existing high school to those seen at the D.C. Jail.

“It’s very important because this is the only public high school in Ward 7,” she told The Examiner in explaining that Lew had committed to a spring groundbreaking. “I’m going to hold them to it.”

Lew spokesman Tony Robinson would not comment on plans for the school and said Lew would formally make an announcement during a news conference today.

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According to Lew’s Modernization Projects Status Report released Oct. 1, the school overhaul was originally scheduled to cost just over $34 million and be completed in 2005. Now, budget figures are closer to $78 million, with the new school not likely to open to students until 2010.

Alexander said that from now until the groundbreaking, the city will seek input from the community on the design of the facility.

A big question remains as to how much will be invested in facilities upgrades at the existing school considering it will be torn down a short time later.

Alexander said she’s confident Lew will settle on the correct balance.

William Wilson, of the Ward 7 Education Council, said his group is sorely concerned about the state of Woodson High, a school he described as being in disrepair for years.

That’s why many citizens fired off a series of questions to school officials last week about the status of the school, he told The Examiner.

“This is something that should have been done yesterday,” Wilson said of the construction plans.

dlevitz@dcexaminer.com