Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 4 · column 2 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
school board’s experience.
For the last year, the school board has covered cost estimates on the combination bus shop and central office building with a cloak of secrecy. That cloak was lifted in January at the bid opening when the board agreed to accept the low bid of $138,871 for the work. But failure to advertise for bids compromised the entire process and the project had to be rebid.
That first low bid had been splashed across the front page of the newspaper. Following the reasoning of the secrecy advocates, that meant all the new bids would come in above that figure.
They did not.
Four came in below $138,871. Even Baughan Construction, who submitted that figure the first time around, found a way to shave off $1,640 in the second round of bids.
Supervisor Gilkey’s point has been proven as far as secrecy on construction project costs is concerned. Both the public’s confidence and the public’s dollars can be saved by conducting business in public.
98.6%