Guilford County school board chairman Alan Duncan insisted that Eastern Guilford will be rebuilt on time at last night’s meeting. It could happen, based on the fact that Barnhill Contracting, if it gets the bid, has a good reputation for getting projects in on time.

Maybe it’s me, but I was puzzled that questions during the discussion focused on Barnhill’s hiring practices regarding minority contractors. Board member Dot Kearns even asked staff members if Barnhill was aware of GCS’ new goal of 12 percent minority hires on construction projects. I’m not sure what Kearns’ motivation was behind asking such questions. Would she have voted against entering into negotiations with Barnhill if the answers were not to her satisfaction?

I still don’t get is the way the board is constantly stressing its urgent construction needs, which it does indeed have, yet turns around and places extra burdens on contractors bidding for projects. In my view, the Eastern situation warranted a grandfather clause on the previous 10 percent minority policy, if not a total waiver.

To be fair, Barnhill sounds like a company that’s cool with the situation, and Eastern hopefully will be finished on time. But I’m wary of future projects, especially with a bond referendum coming up in November, since political correctness obviously takes precedence over getting the job done.