Advice on hiring contractor

The district’s new $14.5 million school is slated to open in 2009.

By SEAN BARRON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

NORTH JACKSON — As the school district gets closer to the construction of a new middle school/high school, it’s important that school officials adopt a series of guidelines before hiring a contractor to perform the work.

That was a key point Patty A. Camacho outlined in her presentation during Thursday’s board meeting.

Camacho, a Toledo-based consultant at the session on behalf of the Building Excellent Schools Together Alliance, outlined numerous recommendations put forth in July by the Ohio School Facilities Commission that pertain to responsible bidder requirements and finding reputable contractors.

The BEST Alliance organization promotes and educates Ohio’s school districts on responsible contracting.

Camacho cited several examples of how unqualified or poor contractors have caused districts all over the state to face unexpected expensive purchase orders, shoddy work, construction delays and other problems.

Standards

A sample of the OSFC standards she recommended the board look for in a contractor were:

UBeing in compliance with the state’s drug-free workplace requirements.

UCertifying the bidder has not been penalized for prevailing-wage violations, providing false payroll records, or violating provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

UEnsuring supervisory personnel with three or more years in the trade are hired.

UMaking sure the contractor has not had a license revocation in the past five years.

UEnsuring a minimum health-care plan for workers and seeing that contributions will be made to an employee pension or retirement program.

Detailed designs of the school will be sent within the next few weeks to the OSFC for review, noted Superintendent Buck Palmer, who added that the next few months will be spent preparing the site between Mahoning Avenue and Interstate 76 for the new school. Construction should get under way in March or April, he said.

The $14.5 million, 81,000-square-foot facility will house pupils in grades six to 12. It is slated to open in September 2009.

In other action, Palmer said security and electrical work are being done on a bus parking facility that will be in compliance with U.S. Department of Homeland Security guidelines.

Once it’s completed, the buses will be behind a secure fenced-in area designed to protect them from sabotage, the superintendent has said.