All bids over-budget to rebuild Whitehorse high school

All of the bids to rebuildF.H. Collins Secondary School in Whitehorse have come in over the Yukon governments budget for the project.

The government budgeted $38.6 million for construction. The minimum bid was just under $48 million from EllisDon Corporation of Richmond, B.C.

Graham Construction of Delta, B.C., bid $50 million and Clark Builders of Yellowknife bid $60 million. All bids complied with contracting rules.

The deadline for contractors to submit tenders for the projecthad been extended to Feb. 26 from Feb. 15.

Cabinet communications officer Matthew Grant said they'll wait until after the bids are reviewed before commenting.

NDP education critic Jim Tredger noted the last auditor general's report on education pointed out how the department does not know how to handle risks, and he calls extra spending a risk.

"There doesn't seem to be a plan in place to mitigate that," he said.

"And because we've made so many promises and had them broken, we're left in a state of confusion. Everyone's wondering who's going to build it, when are they going to start and how much is it going to cost?"

Tredger said earlier this winter that the education minister was promising the school would be built on time and on budget.