DOE wants to stay out of court

by Krystal Paco

Guam - The Department of Education is hoping it won't have to take contractor International Bridge Corporation to court for failing to complete the new John F. Kennedy High School campus in Upper Tumon. DOE interim superintendent Taling Taitano said, "We continue to hope that we can fix these problems administratively - CAPFA has recently provided assurance that the outstanding punch list would be acted on in a timely manner, so we continue to work with them we have discussed the possibility yesterday of kicking it up to legal counsel.

"We'll probably be meeting with our attorney general in the upcoming weeks. However, as much as possible we would certainly like to resolve it administratively if we can."

JFK administrators may be vocal about the unsatisfactory work throughout the Upper Tumon campus, but DOE cannot seek liquidation damages from IBC because there was no penalty clause in the original contract.