PSS awards contract for additional classrooms

Construction work on seven additional classrooms for Dandan and Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary Schools are scheduled to start soon after the Public School System last Friday awarded the contract to Guam Pacific Power Corporation.

Four new classrooms at DES and three at GTC are being targeted to reduce overcrowding at the said campuses, according to a PSS Capital Improvement Projects status report.

The CIP Committee headed by Board of Education Anthony Pellegrino has 46 ongoing major CIP projects worth approximately $44.5 million.

Some 25 maintenance projects (less than $10,000) are also under construction. The project value for these upgrades is being pegged at $91,000.

Close to 41 FEMA-funded repairs have already been completed and 14 ongoing this year, for an additional $1,018,593.

Meanwhile, the completion date for Kagman Elementary School still stands for early July of this year.

PSS will remain operating with the 16 existing schools it has for the next school year’s opening.

According to the CIP Committee, additional facilities that have been completed and under construction will keep the school system off multi-track and substantially lessen overcrowding in schools.

Collectively, these additional facilities will allow PSS to acquire four new schools next year.

The additional four schools will total the number of public schools to 20 by 2001.
PSS has also received General Obligation bonds approximately worth $29 million to cover CIP priorities on Rota, Tinian, Saipan, and Anatahan.

The GO bond will include the design for the proposed Kagman Junior High School, a project which has already been awarded. Next to be awarded are the design/build contracts for Kagman Senior High and Koblerville Senior High tentatively scheduled for this month.

PSS will also expedite the completion of Sinapalo Elementary School in Rota. With the contract now awarded, construction is set to start before the end of the month.

The CIP Department also has several major “non-bond” projects completed or under construction this year.

The new E-rate communications project, a WSR Cafetorium, a media center at Marianas High, and a stage at Hopwood Junior High. The last portion of Tinian High School Phase I will be completed over the next two months.

But Phase II and Phase III of the high school ($4,500,000) has yet to begin. (MM)