During the Tuesday, October 1st facilities management meeting of the Colonial School Board the bids submitted to build a new Colonial Middle School will be discussed in public for the first time. They were opened on September 25th.

This is the second time the job was put out to bid. The first time, under a Responsible Contractors” policy resulted in just two bids, both of which were over budget.

Those two bids were rejected, and the “Responsible Contractors” policy was rescinded for the rebid.

If you aren’t familiar, a “Responsible Contractors” policy creates a set of standards contractors must meet to be able to bid on a job. Proponents of this type of policy believe it creates safer working conditions and the work is completed by the most skilled labor. Opponents believe a mechanism within the policy requiring a very specific type of apprentice program limits bidding to union shops and that limits the bidding process and raises costs.

Since the Colonial Middle School project has now undergone two bidding processes, one with a “Responsible Contractors” policy in place and one without, Tuesday night should bring an answer to just how the policy impacts competitive bidding and cost.

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 1st at 5:00 p.m. in the general meeting room.