NEWS: Bill 58 would delay new Simon Sanchez High School
AG must exercise authority to cut through red tape that has delayed construction thus far
Governor Calvo is calling on Senators to do the right thing and ensure that Simon Sanchez High School community gets a new school sooner rather than later.
Bill 58 is being discussed today by senators. They are attempting to override the Governor’s veto of the bill. It was vetoed because it will NOT GUARANTEE that protests or other delays would further hold back the construction of the school. It also would restart the process. Even Senator Tom Ada, who is the author of the bill admits that his bill – if it becomes law – would at the very least require several steps of the procurement process be redone. Overriding the veto would cause further delay.
Mayor Rudy Matanane, the Simon Sanchez High School students and parents and teachers, stand in opposition of anything that would further delay the construction of a new school.
“Not a single day since has been spent actually constructing the new campus. Construction companies and lawyers are too busy fighting for a profit while the Sanchez community and every other dilapidated school campus has to wait. This is the unfortunate byproduct of a procurement process that gives companies the right to pause progress at any point, and for unsubstantiated and frivolous reasons,” the Governor stated.
AG’S AUTHORITY
The Governor has called on the Attorney General to cut through the red tape and ensure the construction of a safer, cleaner and healthier Simon Sanchez High School by signing a letter of substantial interest. In a letter to the AG, he wrote:
By signing a “letter of substantial interest,” the AG will pull the Simon Sanchez High School community out of the legal entanglement that has delayed construction. It then would allow the Department of Public Works to finally move forward and build a new northern high school.
“The thought that we’ll spend another four years in protest and through construction is inconceivable. Ronald Reagan quipped once that ‘Government has the tendency, not to solve problems, only to rearrange them.’ There’s an ongoing procurement for the SSHS campus solution. If the Legislature forces Bill No. 58 to become law, the procurement will restart, we will be that much further from starting the fix, and we will set ourselves up for even more protests.
“I am not the only person sick and tired of this delay. I can’t even imagine the exasperation of students, teachers, other employees, and parents who directly are affected by this failure,” the Governor stated.
