Groathouse Construction, the general contractor for the Roosevelt High School/Center for Advanced and Professional Studies, expects to be two months late in completing the project.

The Natrona County School District board of trustees is not happy.

"We're all frustrated that we won't be able to open Roosevelt on schedule," board Chairman Dave Applegate said at a work session Monday.

Groathouse won the bid for the $23 million project, which is being built on Cyclone Drive in west Casper.

Last week, Groathouse Construction President Fred Bronnenberg wrote to the district's business services director Dennis Bay to tell him that weather, a change order, changes in design and other factors will delay the opening of Roosevelt/CAPS by two months.

"Factoring in owner activities, such as furniture installation and moving, most likely it will not be ready until March of 2016," Bronnenberg wrote.

District Superintendent Steve Hopkins said Roosevelt was to be open for its second semester in the 2015-2016 school year.

Bronnenberg explained weather and equipment issues were causing the problems.

But Applegate disputed those reasons.

"'The weather' does not fly with me," he said. "I don't see anything that's out of the scope of any other construction project."

Applegate and Hopkins intend to meet with Groathouse officials to discuss completion dates, equipment needs and design issues, they said.

But after the work session, Bronnenberg still insisted the weather and changes to the project forced the delay in the completion date.

"The design team hasn't been (told) to design the changes they're talking about," he said. "Every construction project you have changes, changes in time and changes in money."

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