New bids received on landscaping, windows, roof 

By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

Roy Owens, supervisor of maintenance and operations for Benicia Unified School District, will present bids for four remaining areas of renovation at the building that serves as both Liberty High School and the district office, 350 East K St.

Bids on the projects — toilet room alterations, re-roofing, window replacement and landscaping — were rejected in October when the Board of Trustees followed the advice of Chief Business Officer Tim Rahill, who said the bids “unfortunately … all came in above our budgeted amount, and we would like to go out and rebid those four pieces and do an expanded advertisement to solicit additional interested parties.”

“The settlement agreement from the Valero-Good Neighbor Steering Committee provides $1 million to the Benicia Unified School District for the Liberty High/District Office LEED Certification Facility Project,” Owens wrote in a new report to the board. “Of the $1 million, $300,000 is for design, engineering, regulatory agencies and inspections, which leaves $700,000 for construction.”

The project was originally divided into five projects, of which only the installation of energy management systems has been completed. It was done by Syserco Inc., of Petaluma, for $39,994.

After rejecting the bids, the board approved re-advertising for the remaining projects in November. Subsequently, the district received bids that Owens recommended accepting: $104,530 to AA Glass Shop (Salinas) for the windows; $147,600 to ALCAL Specialty Contracting (Fremont) for the roof replacement; $134,443 to Construction West Services for toilet rooms alterations; and $183,000 to Neary Landscape Inc. (Santa Rosa) for grounds landscaping.

In other matters, Superintendent of Benicia Schools Janice Adams will give a report on the status of school safety in the district and recent efforts to improve it.

“The incident at Sandy Hook Elementary obviously raised the level of concern for parents and staff regarding student safety,” Adams said Tuesday.

“Our district safety committee is currently reviewing our current practices and policies to determine whether there are things we can do to create safer campuses.

“I will be providing an update to the board regarding our review and recommendations that have arisen.”

After the Dec. 14 shootings that killed 20 schoolchildren and six staff members of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Adams and Benicia police Chief Andrew Bidou wrote an open letter to the community in which they acknowledged that many in Benicia “have expressed concern about the safety of our schools and our children.”

They wrote that the school district, police department and other public safety agencies “have a strong, collaborative relationship.”

For instance, Benicia police are assigned to two schools, “and are in daily communication with district leadership,” they wrote.

“School and police procedures have radically improved since the Columbine tragedy, providing a stronger, rapid and more effective response by first responders,” they wrote.

“Benicia Police Department has added specific equipment and officers have received extensive training and practice in these types of emergencies. We have absolute confidence in our personnel, and they are ready to respond effectively.”

Also Thursday, Adams will also ask the board to approve the use of Valero-Good Neighbor Steering Committee Settlement Agreement funds for a science lab at Liberty High School.

According to a report by Dr. Karen Dubrule, district director of curriculum and instruction, “BUSD’s course requirements for high school graduation include 20 units of science credit — Physical Science/Earth (one year) and Life Science/Biology (one year). Both are lab-oriented courses.

“While students at BHS receive this course instruction in science labs, Liberty High students do not because there is no existing lab environment available to them,” Dubrule wrote.

She noted that this instructional deficit was cited in a 2007 report and recommended the board approve $70,000 in Valero-Good Neighbor Steering Committee Settlement Agreement funds for the addition of a science lab at Liberty High.

If You Go
The Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees will meet at 6 p.m. for closed session and 7 p.m. for open session at the BUSD board room, 350 East K St.