Priorities

Even as D.C. politicos and residents are trying to decide what they think about Mayor Fenty's new pick to run the schools, Michelle Rhee, today Fenty's office announced his pick for another important position: D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission CEO Allen Y. Lew will head up a new, independent facilities authority created by the school reform law to oversee contruction and renovation of DCPS's stock of public school buildings. Over the last few years, DCPS has proved itself woefully incompetent when it comes to managing its facilities, and I thought that plans to create a separate school facilities authority were one of the promising elements of Fenty's school reform plan. Taking construction and maintenance out of DCPS will allow Rhee and her team to better focus on the core goal of improving student achievement. And the new facilities authority is able to bring in new talent that has a proven record on big public construction projects, rather than random people who rose through the dysfunctional DCPS system.

That's the case with Lew, who's well regarded for his successful work on the D.C. Convention Center and Stadium projects. His success with these complicated and contenious projects also suggests Lew has the bureacratic and political maneuvering skills to deal with the challenges of implementing the massive DCPS Master Facilities Plan. Fenty's willingness to move Lew off the high-profile and high-stakes stadium project to focus on schools also suggests he's got his priorities in the right place. If only that could be said for everyone in D.C. government:

Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) praised Lew but voiced concern about the fate of the stadium project. The ballpark's high public cost could rise further if it is not completed on time because penalties would be owed to the team owners.

"Do you want to take the main guy out of the picture, the guy who is able to get it done on time and on budget on opening day?" Evans said. "If you take him out of it, who will replace him? Getting the stadium done is not automatic."

Look, I live four blocks from the stadium, so I have a huge personal interest in seeing the project completed well and on time. But nothing is more important to the future welfare of this city than improving our youngsters' education.

And don't get me started on the "community activists" who are finding fault with Lew because he lacks experience in education. The guy's in charge of buildings, not instruction. He needs construction background, project management skills, and political and bureacratic savvy. The evidence suggests he's got them. What he needs to know about education he can figure out on the job. Did you hear the Nats owners bitching that Lew never played pro baseball?