Superintendent Randy Weseman greets teachers in the commons area at the new South Junior High School Monday. Although not all rooms will be ready, school starts Thursday for all students. The old SJH building is to be torn down Wednesday.

School may be delayed several days for students at South Junior High School, where construction is still under way and teachers are scrambling to set up classrooms.

Lawrence public schools begin classes Thursday and seventh-graders are scheduled to attend a half-day of classes Wednesday.

District administrators will make a decision by noon today about the start day for SJHS, 2734 La., which could be Friday or Monday. It also will decide whether to delay school for Broken Arrow School, which is adjacent to the junior high.

Superintendent Randy Weseman said South’s teachers will meet with Principal Will Fernandez this morning. School administrators will then report to Weseman, who will make the decision.

“We just want to make sure that we’ve given our teachers ample time to get ready,” Weseman said.

Teachers got the first glimpse of the $24 million building Monday when they reported to work. Also at work were several construction workers who were hauling in truckloads of furniture and other classroom materials.

“When it’s done it’s going to be a terrific facility, and I was shocked at how much needed to be done still. That’s my gut feeling,” said math teacher Laura Marlow.

Marlow and seventh-grade math teacher Jody Rees said the construction workers were doing a good job, but they expected work to be further along.

“We came to school today to set up classrooms, and we couldn’t do that,” said Marlow, who will be moving to different classrooms with her supplies on a cart for the first few weeks of school.

Weseman and Tom Bracciano, division director of operations and facility planning, said the delayed start would be to allow more preparation time for teachers. The time would be made up by adding a few minutes to the length of the school day.

“In terms of the construction of the building, it’s what you’ve heard. We’re not going to have all sections of it complete, but it will be safe. It will be usable in that respect,” Weseman said. “But to have it educationally ready I think may require some additional preparation.”

Teachers’ curriculum materials and other items are still coming out of storage. Administrators had not planned for the school’s gym and some classrooms on the south side of the building to be ready. More work is planned in the kitchen and auditorium, and lunch will be catered in from Lawrence High School.

As construction progresses through September, teachers will either be traveling from classroom to classroom or teaching in temporary spaces. Most of the classrooms can be opened up and expanded into the hallway with a partition, called a pod, Bracciano said.

One teacher said the temporary adjustments would be worth it.

“When it’s done it’s going to be absolutely beautiful,” said Kathy Stuntz, a science teacher at South for 15 years.

Bracciano expected workers to make progress overnight.

But, he said, the teachers are the best judges of whether they can effectively use their spaces for students.

“I’m comfortable with what we delivered, and I’m not sure that they’ll decide not to go,” Bracciano said.

The old South, next to the new one, is scheduled to start being demolished Wednesday, and it will take about 45 days, Bracciano said.

The district’s official announcement about the start date of South and Broken Arrow schools will be posted on Tuesday here at ljworld.com.