Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The Sweet Home School Board put the hammer down on repairs to district schools Monday night, Aug. 12.
Board members voted 5-0 to approve a resolution declaring an emergency, which allows the district to bypass standard bidding procedures to expedite repairs at Sweet Home Junior High and Foster and Holley elementary schools.
The schools, which are being remodeled, were damaged in a rainstorm during the night of July 17-18.
The unanticipated rain damaged ceiling tiles, insulation and some light fixtures at Foster and light damage at the junior high and Holley, said Supt. Tom Yahraes. It affected all but one classroom at Foster.
Business Manager Kevin Strong said the rain, which was not in the forecast, started while the roof was off at Foster.
“Given the short amount of time before school starts, we do not have time to complete the standard competitive bidding requirements for the repair work,” Strong said.
“Instead, we would like to contract with Gerding Builders, who is already on site, working on seismic projects at Foster and Holley and the renovation project at the Junior High School, to complete the rain damage repairs.”
The School Board, acting as the district’s Local Contract Review Board, must approve a resolution to move forward with emergency procurement of construction services without the standard bidding process, Strong said.
“They’re the contractor on site, and they can pull the trigger faster,” Yahraes said about Gerding.
The district will pay a $10,000 deductible, Yahraes said, and the total cost of repairs is unknown at this point, but he expects it will exceed $500,000.
Gerding, which is the contractor on the construction projects that exposed the buildings to the weather, and the district’s insurance company, the Special Districts Association of Oregon, are working out who will how much to restore the buildings.
Strong said that Gerding and the insurance company have been very supportive in ensuring the schools will be ready when school starts, Sept. 3.
Present at the meeting were Jim Gourley, Chanz Keeney, Mike Reynolds, Chairman Jason Redick and Jenny Daniels.
Absent were Jason Van Eck, Debra Brown and Angela Clegg.
In other business, the board:
n Appointed Angela Clegg to represent the Crawfordsville area on the School Board.
She previously served as the Foster member of the board. But because she no longer lived inside the Foster attendance boundary during last May’s board election, she was unable to run for the position.
Foster and Crawfordsville had no candidates in May. Winning write-in candidates chose not to or could not serve.
The district received no applicants for the positions from within the attendance boundaries, which means the board may appoint representatives from across the district.
Clegg applied to fill the Crawfordsville position for a two-year term.
Those interested in serving in the Foster position should contact Julie Emmert at the Central Office at (541) 367-7126.
n Approved the resignation of Killian Maxwell, math teacher at Sweet Home Junior High.
n Approved the hiring of Wayne Lander, half-time advanced math teacher at Sweet Home High School. The position is temporary.
n Held the first reading of policy updates relating to the Mc-Kinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
n Toured the Foster, Holley and junior high construction sites.