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School district authorizes emergency fire repair funds
By Daniel Hindin
Damage from a June 28 fire at Fremont Union High School District's King's Academy prompted the school board to authorize immediate emergency repairs last Friday. The Academy is a private junior high and high school located on N. Britton Avenue in Sunnyvale.
King's Academy, nearby Springs of Life Fellowship Church and Rainbow Montessori were all affected by the blaze. "Most of the fire was contained in one corridor. Little, if any, actual flames entered the building," says Gene Longinetti, FUHSD coordinator of Property Management. "The damages were mostly caused by smoke and heat from the fire."
According to Longinetti, although fire trucks from Sunnyvale's Public Safety Department arrived on the scene quickly, there still was a good deal of electrical damage because the corridor had a lot of wiring and voltage overhead. Work on the electrical damage began the next day, and most of it was repaired within three days of the fire.
Reparations of the electrical damage, Longinetti said, was cheap enough that the district's policy allowed immediate work. He added, however, that there is more damage that will cost much more money. There is some structural damage on the sheer wall that holds the buildings together. In addition, windows, walls and parts of the roof need to be replaced.
Longinetti estimates that damages to the school are between $400,000 and $600,000.
"The school is bound by law," Longinetti says. When the price of construction is this high, they have to advertise and take bids on the project. "It would have involved a long process before any resolution could have been reached."
However, Section 20013 of the Public Contract Code makes exceptions in emergency situations. The code states that the school district may enter into a contract without advertising for, or receiving bids, if the damage affects existing classes or activities, or if there is a possibility of danger for either people who participate in activities at the building or for school property.
Board members unanimously adopted Resolution #001-01 early last Friday morning. The resolution authorizes that, if an emergency exists, the repairs must be performed in a timely manner. The resolution further authorizes the district superintendent or superintendent's designee to enter into one or more contracts for necessary repairs as soon as possible without soliciting bids.
Those contracts have now been entered upon with TL Electric and VM Restoration. Most of the work will be done on Buildings A and B at King's Academy.
Activities that are usually conducted in either of those buildings have been moved to Building D for the interim. According to Longinetti most of the work will be completed within 30 days, after which all activities will return to their normal locations.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
