Su Valley setback

PALMER — A planned fall 2009 opening of the new Su Valley Jr./Sr. High School will be pushed back following a decision by the Mat-Su Borough to not award the winning bidder for the $17.5 million project.

Although disappointed with the news, Mat-Su Borough School District officials said they hope the new school will be ready as soon as possible. The former Su Valley school burned in June 2007 and a fast-tracked plan for rebuilding had the district aiming to open the new school in fall 2009.

“The district is disappointed that the new school will not be ready for students when the school year opens in the fall of 2009, but will be ready to welcome them into the new space as soon as the school is built,” the district says in a prepared statement.

The Borough stopped plans to award the contract to Wasilla-based Collins Construction after Collins and another company bidding for the contract, Roger Hickel Contracting Inc., reportedly shared data and numbers with one another.

The delay will keep students attending Su Valley in portables located in the parking lot of the Upper Susitna Senior Center when school begins in 2009.

News of the Borough’s contract cancellation is disappointing, Mat-Su Borough School Board member Pat Purcell said.

“I’m a real advocate for them up there,” Purcell said of Su Valley students and the community. “They’ve all worked very hard to put up with being in those portables.”

School Board President Sarah Welton also said she is disappointed the contract won’t be awarded.

Borough Assemblyman Tom Kluberton, who represents the district where Su Valley Jr./Sr. High School is located, said he is seriously disappointed about the contract delay.

“It’s just a huge negative in every regard,” Kluberton said, adding he’s hoping for a long construction season this year to hopefully make up for lost time when a new contract is awarded.

“The only thing we can hope for is a mild winter, at least a mild fall, to see if we can get a running start and get shaped up,” Kluberton said.

In the school district statement, Borough Manger John Duffy said he hopes to re-bid the project quickly enough to open the new school by November or December 2009.

Contact Michael Rovito at michael.rovito@frontiers-man.com or 352-2252.