$1.3 billion modernization plan would transform D.C. school facilitites

Washington, D.C., council members have given a cool reception to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's $2.5 billion plan to modernize public schools, calling it vague, incomplete and developed with little participation by residents. The core of the plan is a $1.3 billion attempt to bring at least some improvements in lighting, air quality and technology to most of the city's 3,200 classrooms by 2014. Council members and a school facilities expert who was called to testify said the blueprint lacks information that is usually basic to any long-range plan. This includes data on the current condition of school buildings, a history of money spent on each school, and plans to deal with asbestos and lead.

To read The Washington Post article, click here. EARLIER: Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian M. Fenty has unveiled the outlines of a $1.3 billion school modernization plan that he promises will place all students in dramatically improved buildings by 2014. The master facilities plan does not specify estimated costs for each school project. Neither does it offer many details about the scope and scale of the work envisioned. The most unusual aspect of the plan is its short timeline. Most facilities plans try to peer 10 to 15 years into the future. Fenty wants at least some physical improvement to all the city's 120 schools--62 elementary, 12 middle, 18 high, 22 pre-K-8 and 6 special education--between 2009 and 2014. To read The Washington Post article, click here.