NEENAN Dec17(2)

SCHOOLS: Other problems found in state review minora district spokeswoman. Anyrepairs would be done beforestudents occupy the new addi-tion after winter break, shesaid.

Neenan, a major builder ofColorado schools, has been inthe spotlight since its $18.9 mil-lion school in Meeker, in north-western Colorado, was tempo-rarily closed after a reviewfound it was built to the wrongsafety codes and susceptible tocollapse in severe weather.

Neenan agreed to a state De-partment of Education requestfor third-party reviews ofNeenan-built projects fi-nanced through a state grantprogram. Other districts haveasked Neenan for their own re-views, and at least one decidednot to wait and conducted itsown.

Emerging issuesSo far, issues have emerged

at eight Neenan-built schools,including some known aboutbefore the problems that cameto light in Meeker.

The state Division of FireSafety, which falls underHomeland Security and over-sees school plan reviews and in-spections, is reviewing 20Neenan projects to determinewhether a deeper look at thecompany’s projects is warrant-ed.

Klein said the priority is to re-view recently occupiedschools, then projects underconstruction.

The state is paying an engi-neer between $150 and $200 anhour to review school construc-tion projects, Klein said. Theexpense of checking onprojects already constructed isexpected to reach about$20,000, then the state is likely

to spend several more thou-sand dollars to “spot-check”structural engineers’ work fora yet-undetermined length oftime, he said.

“Until I am comfortable thatI can trust engineers, I’m goingto double-check their work,”Klein said.

But ultimately, he said,“what I don’t want to do isspend additional taxpayer dol-lars on engineers reviewingother engineers reviewing oth-

er engineers.”The Fire Safety Division is-

sued 604 school building per-mits last year. About 15projects each year includehigh-level structural engineer-ing.

Stages of constructionSchool districts must apply

for a permit for any construc-tion project from the Fire Safe-ty Division.

School districts are required

to hire one of the state’s 13 in-spectors or a private inspectorcertified by the state to ap-prove numerous stages of con-struction — foundation, con-crete, plumbing, drywall, weld-ing, framing and others.

But those inspections are todetermine whether designplans are being followed — forexample, whether studs areplaced every 16 inches as theblueprints say. They are not todetermine whether the designis sound.

A building does not receive a“certificate of occupancy”from the state unless it has metthose requirements and passesa final inspection by a state in-spector. That inspection is tomake sure “there are no wireshanging from the ceiling andthe ceiling tiles are put inplace,” Klein said.

Klein said that aside from theMeeker school, other prob-lems discovered so far duringthe state review have been mi-nor. When engineers look overone another’s work, they maydisagree about the best way todesign a building, he said.

“It’s like getting two plasticsurgeons in the room and say-ing, ‘I wouldn’t tie the knot thatway,’ ” Klein said.

Last month, the state Depart-ment of Regulatory Agenciesopened an investigation intothe work of Gary Howell, thestructural engineer on theMeeker project.

Howell had been reprimand-ed previously for letting his li-cense lapse, and Neenan quick-ly fired him after learning

about the new state investiga-tion.

DORA has not determinedwhether the engineering workin other schools with problemsshould be investigated, said An-gie Kinnaird Linn, a program di-rector with the agency.

“Absolutely, we want tomake sure all (schools) aresafe,” Kinnaird Linn said. “ButI do think we need to go slowas to whether it’s a systemic is-sue or a matter, unfortunately,of finding issues with a majorgroup of projects.”

Third-party reviewsThe state Department of Edu-

cation, meanwhile, has noplans to subject other compa-nies to the same scrutiny thatNeenan has received. The de-partment asked Neenan to con-duct third-party structural re-views of work on 15 of itsschools that received $150 mil-lion through the state’s Build-ing Excellent Schools Today,or BEST, program.

Janelle Albertson Asmus, anEducation Department spokes-woman, said the departmentmade that request because of“the significance of the issues”surrounding Meeker. She saidany further reviews would fallto the Division of Fire Safety.

Former Colorado HouseSpeaker Andrew Romanoff,who along with former stateTreasurer Cary Kennedy wasinstrumental in starting BEST,encouraged state officials togive the construction prob-lems serious attention.

“It makes me very upset,” Ro-

manoff said Friday. “Weworked awfully hard to getthat money in those schools forthose kids. I don’t want to see adime wasted.”

But double-checking everybuilding project in the statewould cost too much and isn’tnecessary, said Marcia Neal,the State Board of Educationvice chairman and a GrandJunction Republican.

“I don’t want to oversimpli-fy, but I think that would be abit of overkill,” she said.

Board of Education chair-man Bob Schaffer, a Fort Col-lins Republican, said it is tooearly to judge whether addi-tional scrutiny is needed, buthe said Neenan has “a verygood reputation for quality, re-liability and so on.”

But state school board mem-ber Angelika Schroeder, a Dem-ocrat from Boulder, said she be-lieves state officials shouldre-examine the system for in-specting new school construc-tion.

She recalled intense scrutinyfrom local inspectors — to thepoint of “standing on yourhead” — during her own prop-erty-improvement project.

“Is the kind of scrutiny ahomeowner gets differentfrom what a school gets? Ifthat’s the case,” she said, “theremay be changes necessary.”

Eric Gorski: 303-954-1971,egorski@denverpost.comor twitter.com/egorski

Jennifer Brown: 303-954-1593or jenbrown@denverpost.com

«FROM 1A

the budget by $14 million,”Stevenson said. “We alreadycut $40 million last year and$20 million the year beforethat. This is huge. It’s going totouch every part of our organi-zation and everything we do.”

About $10 million in savingscould be gained through fourfurlough days, which are un-paid days off resulting in a 2percent reduction in compen-sation across the district.

But because a requirement oftwo furlough days already wasin effect for 2011-12, it wouldmean an additional two fur-lough days, or another 1 per-cent pay cut, chief financial of-ficer Lorie Gillis said.

Budget work groups madeup of a cross-section of hun-dreds of people — includingdistrict staff, parents, unionrepresentatives and other com-munity members — met begin-ning in September to develop alist of proposed cuts. Earlierthis month, they completed a$47.5 million package of cutsfor the board of education anddistrict officials to consider inJanuary.

Friday afternoon, a 20-mem-ber Citizens Budget AdvisoryCommittee — which also in-cluded some staff and union of-ficials — released an additional$20 million in proposed cuts.This group also prioritized all$68 million identified reduc-tions, 82 items in all.

“How far we go down the listwill depend on state revenuesand action,” Gillis said. “Wewon’t really know until earlyspring.”

Additional furlough days area last resort. But top on the listis a proposal that would haveemployees — rather than theemployer — pay the mandated0.9 percent annual increase incontributions to PERA, the pen-sion plan for state employees.It would save the district $4.5million.

Another priority is to save$1 million by increasing stu-dent walking distances by ahalf-mile, eliminating somebus routes and stopping busingto option/choice schools.

“Nothing has been finally de-termined,” district spokeswom-an Lynn Setzer said. “This is astarting point. Everythingmust still be negotiated.”

Some of the last-resort cutsare the the deepest. These in-clude:B At the 18 district high

schools, nine assistant princi-pals, nine counselors and 150teachers could lose their jobsover two years.B At the 19 middle schools,

all 20 teacher librarians couldbe eliminated, along with 33teachers, eight counselors andfour secretaries.

B At the 92 elementaryschools, losses could include 12teaching aides, 21 enrollmentsecretaries, 24 teacher librari-ans, two assistant principals, 19(all) instrumental music teach-ers and 194 other teaching jobs.

“As difficult as this is,” Gillissaid, “we’re preparing and plan-ning appropriately.”

Electa Draper: 303-954-1276or edraper@denverpost.com

«FROM 1A

JEFFERSON: Cuts on heels of others

Issues with schools have been building upStructural issues have been found at eight Coloradoschools built by the Neenan Co. of Fort Collins:Kremmling — A gymnasium roof on a new $11.5 million pre-school through eighth-grade school lifted 3 or 4 inches duringan April 2008 windstorm. Neenan repaired the roof at nocost.Craig (elementary school) — While the $18 million school wasunder construction in 2009, a deflection in a beam supportingthe second floor was discovered. A review pinpointed a draw-ing error by a structural engineer hired as a subcontractor.Neenan made repairs.Meeker — An $18.9 million elementary school that opened infall 2010 was closed a year later after a review found it wasbuilt to the wrong safety codes and susceptible to collapse inextreme weather. A repair plan is still in the works.Monte Vista — A review conducted after the problems in Meek-er emerged found a new high school under construction needsrepairs to strengthen the connections between columns, foun-dation work and other repairs. Neenan disagreed with the find-ings but agreed to pay for the repairs anyway.Craig (middle school) — A wing of the 2-year-old school wasclosed last week to students after a structural analysis found itfailed to meet building codes. Locker rooms, the band room,the theater storage room and adjoining hallway areas are tem-porarily off-limits to students.Akron — Another recent review found a school under construc-tion with help from a $17 million state grant needs foundationwork and other strengthening.Grand Junction — Two minor issues were identified at Cap-stone Charter School, including issues with joist hangers at-tached to a plate on a wall. Repairs are planned.Adams County — “Minor outstanding issues” were identifiedin a preliminary review of a new addition at York InternationalSchool in the Mapleton school district.Sources: School district officials; public records; Neenan Co.

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