Rancocas Valley Regional High School, Mount Holly, NJ

Rancocas Valley Regional High School

Mount Holly, NJ

Rancocas Valley High School was built on the ruins of a private school for boys that was abandoned at the time of the Civil War. Originally named, Mount Holly High, the school opened its doors in 1937.

The school district entered into contract with multiple prime contractors for a multi-phased construction project consisting of the construction of a two-story science and arts wing, including an 800-seat auditorium and an expansion of the athletic building to include a new gymnasium, girls’ locker rooms, and a training room. The library was expanded and moved to the auxiliary gym, and the old library space was converted into additional classrooms. In 2004 the School Board terminated the general contractor, which resulted in a six month delay to the project.

TRAUNER was retained by the surety to evaluate certain issues to determine whether or not they were the result of defective work or of a defective specification relative to the termination. Once this evaluation was completed we provided our findings to the surety.

TRAUNER was asked to prepare a re-let package, evaluate the bids, conduct interviews of the potential replacement contractors, and to make a recommendation for selection of a replacement contractor.

We participated at project meetings. We also assisted in the preparation of a delay analysis, determination of the validity of a time extension, and evaluation of project delays and the contractor’s performance. We participated in negotiations between the surety and the school district.

As a result of the delays due to the general contractor’s termination, the prime contractors in turn brought suit upon the school district and the general contractor.

The surety requested that TRAUNER evaluate the inefficiency claims and claims of constructive acceleration submitted by the prime contractors. The TRAUNER team provided an expert opinion on the surety’s position.

The case was settled successfully for our client.