CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state School Building Authority meets Monday in Charleston and could take action on a measure that would increase school construction costs in the Mountain State.
According to the agenda, the SBA is scheduled to take up a ‘Square Footage Cost Allowance Increase” which was passed by the authority’s construction committee in September and forwarded to the full authority for consideration.
The proposal would increase allowable square footage costs by 20 percent taking the cost for elementary school construction to $307 per square foot, $302 for middle schools and $300 for high schools.
SBA Director of Architectural Services Ben Ashley said the move follows a pattern of higher school construction costs.
“We’ve had projects bid over the last year or so that have been over our dollars-per-square foot funding allowance,” Ashley previously told MetroNews. “With that in mind and looking at the construction cost indexes in both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, we are finding an upward trend.”
The proposed increase could have an impact on how many school construction projects will be funded by the authority later this year. School superintendent presentations are scheduled for Nov. 18-19 with final awards set for early December.
The SBA meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Monday at the authority’s offices in Charleston.