A hearing officer for the Office of Public Accountability has dismissed a procurement appeal challenging the contract award for the new Simon Sanchez High School, ruling the office lacks jurisdiction because the Department of Public Works never issued a decision on the underlying protests.
Hearing Officer Joseph B. McDonald dismissed the appeal by General Pacific Services, LLC without prejudice in a decision issued June 17, meaning the company may refile if circumstances change.
The dispute stems from a March 2025 solicitation in which DPW sought proposals to finance, demolish, design, build, lease back, insure and maintain the new SSHS campus. General Pacific Services filed protest letters in November and December 2025, arguing that competitor Core Tech International Corporation's bid was non-responsive, that the procurement record was insufficient, that the demolition contract was improperly separated, and that Core Tech's proposal exceeded a statutory cost limit.
DPW did not issue decisions on any of the protests, prompting General Pacific Services to appeal to the OPA in January. DPW, later joined by Core Tech, moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.
In his decision, McDonald wrote that under Guam procurement law, a protest decision from the purchasing agency is a prerequisite to an OPA appeal, and that the office may not infer powers not expressly granted by statute. "There being no decisions by DPW on GPS' three protest letters, no appeal lies to the OPA," he wrote.
Each party will bear its own attorneys' fees. The decision may be appealed to the Superior Court of Guam within 14 days.
The ruling is the latest development in the long-delayed effort to build a permanent Simon Sanchez High School campus, a project the Legislature moved to accelerate earlier this year through emergency legislation allowing construction to proceed despite pending procurement protests.