Education Funding

Merging Forces Hike School Construction Costs

By Joetta L. Sack — May 03, 2005 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

States seeking to rein in school construction budgets are running up against the fact that lofty goals for facilities combined with the rising costs of materials and real estate continue to drive up the price tags of new and renovated schools.

See Also

“It definitely has gotten more expensive to build schools,” said Mary Filardo, the founder and executive director of the 21st Century School Fund, a Washington-based advocacy group for better school facilities.

Districts across the country are seeing significant increases in construction expenses as the cost of nearly all materials, particularly steel, concrete, and copper, continue to rise.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks and indexes the selling prices for a sample of building materials, including steel and lumber, the price for that sample increased by a total of 10 percent from January 2003 to January 2005.

Preliminary data show a slight deceleration, to 8.2 percent, by the end of March of this year. Joseph Kowal, an economist with the BLS, said the index “gives you a flavor of what’s happened to prices for material and products in construction.”

That flavor is a bitter one for officials in the 114,000-student Wake County, N.C., school district, which has struggled to build schools quickly enough for its growing enrollment. The district expects to have about 191,000 students in 2020.

Sheri A. Green, the district’s supervisor of facility planning, estimates that materials costs have risen between 25 and 30 percent in the past year in her area, which includes Raleigh. As a result, some projects are being built in phases, she said.

“We have yet to absolutely decide against doing any work, but that is something we might have to consider in this economy and with materials being so high,” Ms. Green said.

Several other factors are driving up costs.

Finding affordable land for schools has become a major challenge in urban districts. Many districts must pay to relocate residents and decontaminate building sites because of environmental problems.

New Jersey, which is in the midst of an $8.6 billion project to remodel and rebuild schools in its poorest districts, is finding few plots of land available in many areas targeted for construction. The state’s School Construction Corp. has commissioned architectural plans for each site because the locations are so different in size and shape that schools must be designed individually.

“You often have a footprint that doesn’t lend itself to a cookie-cutter approach,” said Joan Ponessa, the research director for the Newark-based Education Law Center.

More Demands

Further, more states and districts are pushing for community-friendly school buildings that can accommodate other activities, such as senior citizens’ centers, health clinics, and neighborhood meetings. But that goal often means that buildings must be larger or have additional features, which can add to costs, said Ms. Filardo.

And some states and districts increasingly are pushing for sustainable—or environmentally friendly—features. While many of the costs will be recovered through lower energy bills and maintenance expenses over time, the prices for specialized designs and materials can be higher.

For example, Washington has enacted a law setting new sustainability-based building standards for all state and school buildings. The law, which state officials said was the first of its kind, requires new facilities be designed to lower energy and water use. Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, signed the bill on April 8.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Special Education Webinar
Big Goals, Small Start: Building MTSS to Scale
MTSS is a powerful framework for supporting student success, but implementation can be challenging. Learn from districts about their MTSS success stories and challenges.
Content provided by Panorama Education
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Recruitment & Retention Webinar
Exploring Staff Shortage Impact on Education
Learn about the impact of staff shortages, changing roles of educators, and how technology supports teachers & students.
Content provided by Promethean
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Improving Outcomes on State Assessments with Data-Driven Strategies
State testing is around the corner! Join us as we discuss how teachers can use formative data to drive improved outcomes on state assessments.
Content provided by Instructure

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Funding Pennsylvania School Funding Is Unconstitutional, Judge Says. Here's What Could Happen Next
An appeal could be on the way, but advocates are already gearing up to make the case for funding reform.
6 min read
Stock image of a gavel on top of a pile of money.
iStock/Getty Images
Education Funding 6 Lawsuits That Could Shake Up How States Pay for Schools
Far removed from annual budgets, these lawsuits hold the potential to force states to direct more funds to their schools.
6 min read
Large white hand holding a weighing scale with a bag of money on one side and books with floating letters on the other side showing a balance of knowledge and money
iStock/Getty
Education Funding States Are Rolling in Surplus Cash, But It's Not All Good News for Schools
Some states are ramping up education spending, while others are leaving districts disappointed.
7 min read
Illustration of a man holding oversized money.
Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock/Getty
Education Funding Education Equity Expert: 'We've Gotta Give Up the Notion of Local Control'
David Sciarra, stepping down as head of the Education Law Center, says states have been let off the hook in the push for education equity.
8 min read
David Sciarra, executive director of the Newark-based Education Law Center, an advocacy group for children in low-income cities, looks at paperwork during a hearing in a school funding case before the New Jersey Supreme Court in Trenton, Wednesday, April 20, 2011.
David Sciarra, executive director of the Newark-based Education Law Center, an advocacy group for children in low-income cities, looks at paperwork during a hearing in a school funding case before the New Jersey Supreme Court in Trenton, Wednesday, April 20, 2011.
John O'Boyle/AP/Pool