“Let’s move forward,” Guam Housing Corp. board chair on temporary Sanchez campus

Patience is wearing thin amongst Guam Housing Corporation directors, as the jump to get a temporary Simon Sanchez High School campus underway is seemingly slow-moving. 

Frustration over the delay for a home for the Sanchez community is mounting on different sides. As the Sharks grow weary over the delay for a permanent home, GHC officials are becoming equally frustrated over the slow-moving progress for a temporary campus at its Guma-As-Atdas apartment complex. The GHC struck a deal with the Guam Department of Education for the project late last year. 

GHC board chairman Francisco Florig said, ‘If they’re sitting on it, let’s move forward, forget them. Has that been relayed to them? Because really, we’ve been sitting on those for over a year.”  He bluntly made that statement during a meeting Friday. Though GHC acting president Angela Camacho says there is upcoming progress: with construction expected to begin on the 20 temporary classrooms on site by mid-March, with the bid for GHC units also slated to get underway within the same timeframe. 

Camacho also noting a bump in the road as units lay dormant, saying, “We did have an issue with the buildings being empty and folks going in causing damage and stealing things.”

In the meantime, other board members detailing an estimate of how much the unoccupied GDOE units may be contributing to the GHC's total monthly rental losses from vacancies. 

Secretary Gustavo Morales said, “We've got to take some action. $41,800 a month in a year–we’re losing a half-million dollars.”

As KUAM previously reported, the Department of Public Works has determined to move forward with construction for the new Simon Sanchez High School, despite an ongoing procurement protest by General Pacific Services.  The Office of Public Accountability’s decision on the matter is pending. 

For the time being, a legislative oversight hearing is slated for March 9, where GDOE officials are expected to give updates on the Simon Sanchez rebuild and double-session schedule.