Thursday, July 3, 2008

Residents of Moon Area School District will have an opportunity to hear details of the high school construction project and its maximum costs at a hearing at 6 p.m. July 31.

The state Department of Education requires a public hearing on all construction and substantial additions for school districts.

Daniel Engen of Eckles Architecture and Engineering, New Castle, told the school board Monday that average costs of construction are escalating because of economic factors. Originally, the project was pegged at $190 a square foot, but Engen said some estimates were as high as $230 a square foot.

Engen said he had believed the school could be built for $197.50 per square foot. He said the maximum project cost for the high school, including architectural and other fees and site costs, is $76 million, with a maximum project cost for the building alone at $61.6 million.

The numbers do not include the costs of renovations to the current high school, which will become a middle school.

"The proof is when you get the bids back," said School Director Jeffrey Bussard, an industrial engineer who said after the meeting, "I'm very concerned we're not going to hit those numbers. This year has been an unbelievable year for construction costs."

Engen said that in the past week, he cut about 10,000 square feet of non-instructional space from the high school project, including the elimination of a walking track on the second-floor balcony in the pool area and moving a weight room from the second floor to what originally was to be a wrestling locker room area.