What’s more important — to get the job done or to get it done correctly and efficiently?

Unless there’s some urgency that requires a quick fix, we’ll side with the latter approach, and that’s why we think Morenci’s school chief Kyle Griffith and the board of education made the right decision in calling a temporary halt to the bond projects.

With the start of school just under three weeks away, board members expected that the various maintenance projects approved by voters last May would be well underway by now. Over a five-year stretch, $1.4 million worth of fixing and replacing would be paid by school district residents—simply by keeping the middle school bond at its present rate.

But when bids were opened, two things caught the eye of the administration: costs were about 37 percent higher than expected and there were very few bidders.

To move forward with the project, something would have to go. Either portions of the work would be omitted after they were laid out to voters before the election, or else general fund money would have to be used to cover the shortfall.

Neither of those choices were acceptable to Supt. Griffith who is charged with the diligent use of public funds. He’ll take the criticism he expects to hear from some people rather than moving forward with the careless use of funds just to get the job done.

Of course there will be disappointment when driving over potholes in the elementary school parking drive, when tape remains covering missing tile on some classroom floors, etc., but at least Griffith will have the satisfaction of taking the delay to get the got job done right.