Simon Sanchez High School Sharks near and far are reeling with disappointment after today’s long-awaited groundbreaking ceremony was put on hold. The delay follows a procurement protest filed by one company, raising questions about the timeliness and completeness of the procurement record—though the Department of Public Works says it maintains full confidence in the documents it produced. The protest also triggering an automatic stay under Guam law.

Today was supposed to mark a milestone for the Sanchez High community—the long-awaited groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of their new campus. Anticipation building among the Sharks as they prepared to finally see progress on what had been years in the making.

Kyla Glory, SSHS junior class president, told KUAM News, “They’re taking a step forward in rebuilding our school. That’s something that touched all of our hearts–all of the teachers, staff, students.”

That excitement shared across generations, with many eager to witness the first visible sign of their school’s future. Student Body Association president Ivan Pamplona shared, “I was also really excited because I heard that one of my older teachers’ buildings was the one that was going to get demolished, so I wanted to see that.”

And sophomore Zoe Atoigue, who serves as the Class of 2028 president, said, “We were all just so excited to see that this Monday, we would see the groundbreaking and our school would be rebuilt soon.”

But that excitement coming to an abrupt halt. A procurement protest filed by General Pacific Services triggering an automatic stay under Guam law, delaying progress on the new campus, and postponing Monday’s ceremony. And as the protest review process moves forward, students say the news has been difficult to process.

“As soon as we saw that message, we were very heartbroken," said Glory. "We had people ready to show up at the groundbreaking on Monday. We had la voce ready to sing, we had our class council ready to be there to support and to see it.”

Atoigue added, “It was years of alumni planning to attend, performances were scheduled to show that our pride is still there. We were all so excited.”

Still, student leaders remain hopeful that the issue will be resolved soon, and they’re reminding their peers that despite the setback, the Shark community remains resilient.

SBA president senior Ivan Pamplona said, “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend it, but it’s nice knowing that some other students will be able to attend something that we’ve all been waiting for for many years.”

And Atoigue added, “Just to make sure that always fight to make sure that we’re the school that’s not only known as the one without a campus—but the one with the most pride to show up for what we stand for and to use our voices no matter what.”