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Sderot schools still not reinforced as academic year nears end By Mijal Grinberg Tags: Israel, Gaza, Sderot, Qassam Construction has not yet begun on the five new reinforced schools in Sderot on which the government decided at the start of the school year, even though the year is almost over. According to Interior Ministry Director General Aryeh Bar, the delay is due to a problem with the tender. However, Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal said internal municipal politics and attempts to smear him are responsible. The issue of reinforcing Sderot's schools was brought to a head by a petition to the High Court of Justice charging that the existing method of protecting the children from rocket attacks while in school was inadequate: Rather than protecting each classroom, the government relied on "protected areas" in the school to which students would have to run within 15 seconds in case of attack. The High Court deemed this system inadequate and ruled that the schools would have to be completely protected, and the Education Ministry responded by proposing to entirely rebuild five of Sderot's schools and reinforce them as required. The proposal said the state had "completed all procedures that could be completed ahead of the beginning of construction." Advertisement The Sderot municipality then approached the economic corporation of the Union of Local Authorities (ULA) and asked to give the construction job to one of the companies with which it normally works. However, the Interior Ministry said Sderot issued the tender for work on regular construction, not reinforced construction. Police are planning to interrogate Moyal about alleged irregularities regarding the tender, which was awarded to the Asum construction company. City Council member Michael Amsalem petitioned the High Court against Sderot's choice of Asum for the construction, but the court rejected the petition and referred Amsalem to other courts. At the end of May, Moyal received a letter from Bar, the Interior Ministry director general, informing him that the ministry had found irregularities in the issuing of the tender for construction of the five schools, at a total cost of NIS 53.5 million, because the tender had been for regular rather than reinforced construction. According to the document, of which Haaretz has obtained a copy, the tender was therefore irrelevant to the city's needs. Bar then instructed the Sderot municipality to ask the Israel Defense Forces' Home Front Command to exempt it from issuing a tender, due to the urgency of the situation. But Moyal said the Home Front Command has not yet given him the required permit. Bar confirmed to Haaretz that the tender was irregular. When asked whether the problem lay with Sderot or with the ULA's economic corporation, Bar said that was not his concern. However, he added, there were other ways of channeling the funding - for example, through the Housing and Construction Ministry - rather than funneling tens of millions of shekels through the Sderot municipality. Moyal said in response that the ULA's economic corporation was the body that approved the tender, and that Amsalem had later tried to sabotage the process by petitioning the High Court. According to Moyal, attempts are being made to sully his name and his work, and both the Interior Ministry document and the delays and obstructions in the work are part of these attempts. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Sign of life Family of abducted IDF solider Gilad Shalit receives new sign of life. Happy Jews San Francisco museum details positive impact of Jews on city.   1.   Sderot schools can only be reinforced by a peace deal (1967 borde 01:10  |  Aounist 09/06/08

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