Guam Department of Education Superintendent Judith Won Pat told Simon Sanchez High School parents Tuesday that reinspection of the Tiyan High campus is set for Sept. 11, by that time corrections to health and safety violations cited by the Department of Public Health and Social Services must be complete.
The Tiyan campus, which houses both Tiyan High School and Simon Sanchez High School, has been closed since Aug. 13. Won Pat confirmed the target date for reinspection is now Sept. 11 and though parents want to pitch in they can't.
Won Pat told the Sanchez PTO that Deputy Superintendent of Assessment and Accountability Julie Ulloa-Heath meets daily with Core Tech International, the contractor hired by the property owner Phoenix IDA for janitorial and maintenance services.
Won Pat said three efforts are underway to address the 50 demerits identified during a Department of Public Health and Social Services sanitary inspection that resulted in a "D" grade.
"Our guys also work side by side with them (Core Tech), not necessarily the same thing, but there are a lot of issues at the school that we found that only Core Tech should be able to do. Then our guys go in and work side-by-side with them. That is strictly on our own. And then the third is, in some cases, we're cutting out and cutting a PO to be able to purchase or contract out, some work done by contractors," Won Pat said.
She reiterated past statements about the limiting nature of the lease-back agreement negotiated between the Government of Guam and Phoenix IDA.
"The maintenance contract is the responsibility of Core Tech, and that if there's any work to be done, we would have to pay them, not just to do the work; to buy the materials, and then we give them a 15% overhead above those costs. So, what we're trying to do after evaluating some of the invoices that they're giving us are price quotations, is that we are also working with other companies to reduce that cost," Won Pat said.
Won Pat noted that Core Tech has sent out 150 construction workers to address the maintenance needs of the school, and though there were no workers on the campus this past weekend due to weather, she said roughly 71 workers were present Monday and Tuesday.
"We can see them, they're all working primarily on the roof. So that's the one major work that needs to be done, and that's why ... mentioned to you that the A, B, C, D and E are the first floors which Simon Sanchez is at, and then the J, K, L, H and I, are the two-story classrooms. So, for the most part, those, I see the guys there every day working on the roof," Won Pat said.
Won Pat confirmed that although Core Tech had asserted a possibility of being ready for DPHSS inspection on Thursday, she said, the weather prevented completion of the work needed for reinspection.
Unlike a regular renewal inspection that requires 40 or less demerits to pass, because of the school closure the campus must pass with zero demerits.
"So that means even though we request for a variance ... in this case they told us we can't it has to be that we must fix all 50 demerits," Won Pat said. "They did say that we are allowed to cordon off certain areas and we will cordon all the second floors in the A, B, C, D, and E buildings."
Moving forward, she said Core Tech is working on completing the second-floor work in the other buildings to allow the use of more than 50 classrooms by Simon Sanchez and Tiyan High School students on a double session type schedule.
"That's the situation that we are currently faced with. They are working daily on the tiling, ... the restrooms ... the air conditioners," Won Pat said also confirming a$40,000 purchase order for AC units to be acquired and installed in identified rooms to comply with temperature and humidity requirements.
Won Pat also noted that the schools' principals are working to plan and schedule for the modified return.
"They are taking a lot of things into consideration," she said. "When they open face-to-face, one of the things they are going to do is by law we are supposed to have 300 minutes per day. We are going to be shy 30 minutes."
She said that the 30 minutes is going to be for "intervention."
"The children who need the extra work the teachers will be available to work with them so whatever they have missed and they feel that they need additional work the teachers will be there in that 30 minutes and will all be available for the children," Won Pat said.
Children who do not need intervention will be able to utilize the 30 minutes for club and organization meetings and lunch.
The meeting held at the Yigo Gymnasium was also attended by Sen. Vincent Borja, the legislative Committee on Education, Libraries and Public Broadcasting and Sen. Sabrina Salas Matanane.