Academy hustling to open Tuesday

SPANISH FORK — The Utah County Health Department has given the builders of a new Utah Valley charter school a "critical list" of specific projects that need to be completed for the school to open Tuesday.

"Their list is pretty minor. There's more lists than just the health department," said Mike Morley, the builder who also is a state legislative representative from Spanish Fork. There also are must-do lists from the fire department and the city.

Still, even with all of the work left to be done, Morley says the American Leadership Academy will be open Tuesday — the date it was supposed to start.

The charter school's governing board has asked parents of the students enrolled at the new school to work on the school this weekend.

"There's a lot of positive response," Morley said. "They're all anxious to help."

Parents are moving desks into the building, cleaning the construction site and setting up classrooms, Morley said.

When health department inspectors visited the school on Thursday, they found several unfinished parts of construction that they said could endanger children.

They complied a list of nine items that must be fixed this weekend, including fencing off areas where construction is ongoing and isolating the power generator that will temporarily provide electricity while a permanent electrical system is finished.

Since Monday is Labor Day, a national holiday, the health department inspectors do not plan to visit the charter school, health department spokesman Lance Madigan said. Instead, they proposed to the builders that they work under an honor code.

The inspectors will return to the school sometime Tuesday, after classes begin, to make sure the list was completed.

"Some of the principal partners in the school also happen to be state legislators," Madigan said. "And it would be damaging in the public eye to fudge on these things. It's too much in the forefront."

Many of the items on the health department's list were being done Friday, Morley said. Hot water is running and sewer lines were being connected Friday evening.

Other lists required installation of fire alarms and sprinklers.

Electricity also is a must. Morley said it was difficult to find a temporary source of power because many generators have been sent to help victims of Hurricane Katrina — but he found one through a construction friend.