Company protests Arlington school district over unpaid winter storm repair bill
Dozens of people in support of a construction company that made emergency repairs to a high school after February’s winter storm protested outside the Arlington school district Thursday evening.
Friends, family and employees of Robert Jordan, owner of RJ Construction, hoisted signs saying “pay RJ” outside the district’s administrative building at 1203 W. Pioneer Parkway.
The company sued Arlington school district in late June and claimed district officials had yet to pay over $1.2 million for repairs to Sam Houston High School. The district has argued in court that officials did not broker a written agreement with the company, though the district granted company employees access to the building and the company sent cost estimates to Arlington school district.
Jordan and his employees have publicly called out officials for refusing to pay, as well as telling the public a different story than their court actions. Before picketing outside the district building, Jordan published multiple videos reprising the company’s fight with the district.
An Arlington spokesperson said in September that officials were “working out the scope and value of the emergency services when RJ Construction filed their lawsuit.
“As fiduciaries of the public’s money, Arlington ISD must examine submitted documentation and confirm the value of services being performed. The district has repeatedly requested necessary documentation from RJ Construction, which has not been received. The district also offered to resolve these issues through mediation but RJ Construction opted to sue the district instead,” the statement continued.
Asked for further comment Thursday, the district sent the same prepared statement.
Jordan said the district canceled a meeting between his company and an insurance company in June, and has unsuccessfully tried to negotiate payment with the district. The district’s attorneys also argued the district has governmental immunity from the lawsuit and have refused to mediate unless RJ Construction drops two school administrators from the lawsuit. If not, the district’s attorneys wrote, they could “talk mediation again in 2022, 2023, or 2024, whenever the appeals have been exhausted and then only if Plaintiff has not lost everything.”
Jordan said the public statement contradicts the district and their attorneys’ actions in court.
“Why on earth are they telling the court one thing, that they don’t owe a penny and they want the lawsuit thrown out and they’re asking for their attorneys’ fees to be paid and then telling the public something completely different?” Jordan said Thursday.
Protesters included current and former employees, including Gerald Reeves, who said dragging out the court case would hurt his coworkers’ well-being.
“There’s a lot of people here that’d be affected if they choose to continue down the path they’re on,” he said. “It’s going to put people out of work. It’s going to jeopardize people’s livelihoods here in their own community, which hurts (the district’s) own source of income.”
Betty Auth, who’s used RJ Construction since 2015, heard about the case when Jordan and his employees helped build a pergola in her front yard.
“They’re not doing anything for our kids, they’re not doing anything for our community,” she said. “They’re just trying to put them in a bigger hole.”
Arlington school board members approved a March 11 measure that would allow the district to negotiate a contract with the company.
