Parents rejoice, students lament and administrators scramble. School starts next week.

Oak Harbor students start their classes Wednesday, Sept. 8, and this year, administrators and students alike are complaining about a too-short summer.

“The most common question I get from anywhere in the community is, ‘Are you ready for school?’” Oak Harbor Superintendent Rick Schulte joked at the board meeting Monday. “And the answer is, ‘Of course not. I still have eight more days.’”

Oak Harbor officials have been working all summer to complete the final phase of the high school modernization project which has been under way since 2006. Schulte said that it’d be nice to have a couple more weeks for finishing touches, but he thinks staff and students will be very pleased with the renovations.

“Everything is looking good,” project manager Mitch Romero said. “We’re not up to the very last wire, but we’re getting close.”

Inside the Student Union Building, the floors are gleaming and the lunch tables are stacked and ready. Freshly painted posters hang in the hallways inviting students to the back-to-school dance and homecoming activities.

Incoming freshman Keiko Betcher is excited to start high school and hopes she won’t get lost in the new building.

“The best thing about coming back is seeing all my friends,” she said.

Jasmyn Maier, also an incoming freshman, said she’s not nervous to start ninth grade, but she’d happily postpone doing so.

“I’d rather continue my summer,” she said.

The two girls along with their friend Taryn Mckee agreed that Oak Harbor’s Link Program, which pairs seniors up with incoming freshmen, helps them feel more confident approaching the year ahead.

In Coupeville, school starts a day earlier on Sept. 7, and staff members headed back to work Wednesday to prepare.

“We will be ready, but it’s always a little crazy this time of year,” Sheldon Rosenkrance, Coupeville middle school and high school principal, said, adding that he’s ready to jump into the challenge of a new year and is excited to see the school filled with kids.

“I just like that the students come and are fully involved and participate in all the school activities and sports,” he said. “That’s what makes a great school year.”

Oak Harbor’s Transportation Director Francis Bagarella would like to remind people of a few things as school approaches. First, it is required by law to stop and not pass a school bus when its stop signs are flashing and students are either entering or exiting the vehicle. Second, bus schedules can be found online on individual school websites, but times may vary by five or 10 minutes. And lastly, Bagarella said the first two to three weeks of school are extremely busy for the transportation department, and people with questions are encouraged to leave messages for staff.

But, hey, it’s Labor Day weekend. Who’s thinking about school?