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Education Week <br />American Education's Newspaper of Record <br />September 1, 2004 <br />Costs Climb on Materials <br />For Schools <br />By Joetta L. Sack <br />Education Week <br />The rapidly rising cost of steel and other construction materials is forcing some districts <br />that are building new schools to scramble for more money, delay work, or redesign <br />projects. <br />Nationwide, contractors and architects are finding it harder to give accurate estimates on <br />projects, and some have even had to renegotiate contracts with districts. <br />The prices for nearly every construction material, particularly steel and concrete, have <br />been rising at double -digit percentages in recent months, reminiscent of inflation levels in <br />the 1970s, Even the costs of asphalt, plywood, and paint have been rising, according to <br />data from McGraw -Hill Construction, a New York City -based research group for <br />industry professionals. <br />The increases may put a dent in the school construction industry, which grew to $29 <br />billion last year. Many of the fastest - growing districts are juggling multiple projects and <br />have seen the greatest impact. <br />"It has had a dramatic effect in terrns of projects coming in over budget, or projects not <br />being bid on at all," Michael Garretson, the deputy superintendent for facilities in the <br />271,000 - student Broward County, Fla., school district, said of the spike in costs. <br />This summer, bids for a new middle school that had been budgeted at $20 million canine <br />in at between $26 and $30 million, he said. Meanwhile, nobody bid at all on a dozen <br />projects budgeted at $1 million or less, possibly because contractors did not see enough <br />potential for profit. <br />"In the last 12 months, we've seen an increase between 15 and 20 percent" on the cost of <br />completed projects, said Dale Scheideman, the director of new schools and facility <br />planning for the 270,000 - student Clark County, Nev., district. His district is building 99 <br />schools as part of a 10 -year construction plan. If the inflation continues at its current rate, <br />the district could run out of money for one of the schools, Mr. Scheideman said, <br />