Officials meet to settle Tinian High School dispute

Settlement discussions are expected to transpire today between the Public School System and Guerrero Brothers Inc. following efforts by the State Board of Education and legislators to fast-track the six-year-old Tinian High School project.

BOE members and the Tinian Legislative Delegation will facilitate the negotiations on Tinian today in another attempt to seek an end to the long-standing dispute between PSS and GBI.

BOE Vice Chair Roman C. Benavente said the campus project’s delay has already caused enough strain among parties involved, as well as to the community in general.

“It is conflicting everyone — the students, legislators, educators…We want to settle it once and for all so that we can resume with the campus construction and expedite other PSS projects,” said Mr. Benavente.

GBI is reportedly seeking to collect from PSS the due amount for the services it has rendered for Phase I of the Tinian high school project.

The amount, which school officials did not care to disclose, is said to be excessive than what the construction company is entitled to.

After the settlement discussions, the Tinian delegation is anticipated to lay down recommendations for GBI on the course of action to take.

The construction company will be given a week’s time after the consultations to respond to the leadership’s proposals, according to Mr. Benavente.

Attorney General Herbert Soll and officials from the Governor’s Office are expected to take part in today’s discussions.

Mr. Soll was earlier prodded by the Senate to take the lead in the PSS-GBI negotiations in order to assist the school system move on to the next phase of the Tinian campus project.

The Tinian High School Phase I Project has been under the Office of Insular Affairs-probe since its contractor, GBI, stopped its construction back in 1996.

The then Tanapag-based construction company reportedly abandoned the project four years ago after PSS terminated its contract for failing to meet deadlines.

GBI, according to reports, failed to beat deadlines due to lack of manpower and resources.

The construction firm, now out of business, barely finished phase one of the three-phase $9.5 million high school campus.

The school system has already expended roughly $4 million on the project as of last construction work.

OIA earlier disclosed it has set aside some $5.2 million in fresh funds should PSS accept the responsibilities and resume the project with another contractor.