MOORPARK : Bids to Build School to Be Sought Again

The new Moorpark Community High School building may not be ready for its planned September opening date because three rounds of bidding have failed to turn up a builder for the $1-million project, school district officials said.

The board of the Moorpark Unified School District voted Tuesday to put the $1-million construction project out to bid for a fourth time after district officials failed to agree on a contract with the builder who won the third bidding round about two months ago.

District officials and the contractor had a last-minute dispute about whether the contractor’s $1-million bid covered the entire project, Supt. Thomas L. Duffy said.

School officials hope to find a builder within two weeks. The district will advertise for new construction bids through newspapers and builders’ associations, Duffy said.

But the delay means that the school will not be ready for the beginning of school next year unless the architect can find a way to shorten construction time, Duffy said. Construction is expected to take 11 months, he said.

The school district began soliciting bids for construction about seven months ago. The lowest bid received in the first round was higher than the $1 million budgeted.

The construction firm that won the second bid was rejected because it did not meet state standards for employment of women and minorities, Duffy said.