Union: Seattle School Board missed warning signs in scandal

Scott Gutierrez:

Two Seattle school board members were warned in late 2008 that a contractor hired by Silas Potter was unlicensed, paying below-market wages and not following safety rules on construction sites at two elementary schools, according to e-mails between the school board and union officials

The contractor, Solar West Office Solutions, was investigated by the state Department of Labor and Industries, which ordered the company to pay $57,000 in back wages. However, the school district wound up footing the bill because Solar West's owner, Keith Battle, could not be located and failed to respond to state officials, according to an L&I spokeswoman.

For four years, Potter ran both a school district program aimed at connecting minority contractors with the district and the Seattle Schools' small works roster, which allocates low-dollar construction contracts offered by the district. The district's minority contractor development program is now the subject of a criminal investigation.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at March 9, 2011 1:57 AM
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