Stranahan High School renovations stopped after 24 failed inspections

Broward’s perpetually troubled attempt to renovate old schools hit yet another snag this week after an inspector ordered construction to temporarily cease at the long-delayed Stranahan High.

Robert Hamberger, the school district’s chief building official, cited 24 failed inspections in a letter sent Monday to Gilbane Construction, a Rhode Islandbased company.

Citing state building codes, he said any construction work that fails to be approved for construction must not be “covered or concealed until authorized by the building official.” He said work could not resume until all required drawings were submitted and approved.

It’s the second major run-in Gilbane has had with the district. Last month, the district canceled the company’s contract on another project, renovations at Northeast High in Oakland Park, citing disagreements over costs.

Both schools face major issues with leaking roofs, mold and poor air conditioners and were used as poster children to persuade voters five years ago to approve an $800 million bond.

Gilbane officials couldn’t be reached, but Facilities Chief Frank Girardi said the Stranahan issues will likely be resolved.

By Tuesday evening, Hamberger had softened his position after Gilbane officials told the district that eight of the issues had already been resubmitted and approved by building inspectors and were erroneously cited in Hamberger’s letter. These include problems with door and window frames, fire protection devices in heating and cooling systems, a reinforcement bar for a handicapped ramp, and missing screws.

A number of other issues related to windows, bathroom renovations and the building’s structure remain outstanding, although some were submitted for approval last week, wrote Pablo

Burgos-Zayas, a senior project manager with Gilbane.

So on Tuesday, the district “modified the original stop work order notice, which stopped all work on the project, so that it now only covers work specific to the inspection issues,” Girardi said in a statement released Tuesday evening.

Hamberger couldn’t reached for comment.

Stranahan is the second school to face this latest action by inspectors. There is also a pending stop work order notice for Silver Trail Middle in Southwest Ranches. Girardi said this was due to construction work being done in the OPEN SUNDAYS 8:30AM - 2PM be

wrong sequence.

The district hopes to have “all required inspections completed in the required sequence prior to the end of the month,” he said.

Girardi said the Stranahan inspections should be done quickly and not cause any major delays in the project. The first phase at Stranahan is slated to be finished by mid-August, he said. The entire project is scheduled for completion in 2021, four years later than parents and students were told at a meeting in the summer of 2015.

“The delays from vendors, whether they have been from architects or engineers or whoever, are unacceptable, and we as a district have to hold those vendors to the contracts and to

the timelines,” said School Board Chairwoman Heather Brinkworth, whose district includes Stranahan and Northeast. “I continue to be very concerned about the lack of progress in the bond.”

Inspection issues in the school district have been a recurring problem, identified in three grand jury reports, in 1997, 2003 and 2010. The reports found the district often allowed schools to be occupied before they were ready.

Inspectors claimed facilities staff “allow contractors to run roughshod, cutting corners, violating codes and getting change orders charged to the district,” the 2010 grand jury report said.

Facilities project managers “claim many inspectors MON-SAT 8:30-5:00 • SUN 8:30AM-2PM

are hyper-technical nitpickers, often misinterpreting code and unnecessarily holding up projects, ultimately costing taxpayers more money.”

In February, Gov. Rick DeSantis commissioned a fourth grand jury to review how Broward and other school districts spend security and bond-related money.

The $800 million bond, approved with much fanfare in 2014, has turned into a costly debacle for taxpayers. District officials finally admitted last year the district wouldn’t meet its original five-to seven-year time-frame to complete 238 schools.

Now they cite 2023 as the target completion year, but most predict that’s too optimistic. Only two projects

have so far.

Costs have skyrocketed, with some projects comign in double or triple the estimates. A recent analysis from a consultant predicts the district will need an extra $436 million to complete the program.

The problems with the bond, while downplayed by Superintendent Robert Runcie and some School Board members, have alarmed members of several district committees, including the Bond Oversight Committee and the Facilities Task Force.

“This is a travesty for the voters of this county,” Bond Oversight Committee members Bruce Bernard said at a meeting last month. “I feel like voters have been duped.”

been

completed