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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- School construction costs have risen faster than districts expected when they issued bonds for the work.
Nebo, Davis and Jordan are among districts struggling to stretch money to make good on promises when voters approved tax increases to pay for school bonds.
"The landscape had definitely changed between 2002 and today," Davis School District spokesman Chris Williams said.
Officials in Jordan District estimate that construction costs have gone up at least 20 percent in the past year.
Higher oil costs affect materials made with oil, including PVC pipe, asphalt, roofing materials.
A construction boom in China caused steel costs to go up, and the hot local construction market has affected cement availability, according to school and building officials.
Labor costs also have increased, said Keith Stepan, director of the state Division of Facilities Construction and Management.
Richard Thorn, president of the Utah Chapter of The Associated General Contractors of America, said the price of land also has increased.
That has been a problem for the Nebo district, where school bonds were approved by voters in 2004.
The district intended to build two high schools, a junior high school and as many elementary schools as it could afford. That has turned out to be six elementary schools, including two that are being rebuilt.
Prices for elementary schools increased from $7.5 million in 2003 to $9.5 million today.
The increase was partly because of a change in design to make the buildings accommodate more students, Superintendent Chris Sorensen said.
The Jordan district may not be able to build as many schools as planned in 2003.
Jolley and his employees will determine the projected costs of the remaining buildings to see if the district can afford to build them. Eventually, the numbers and options will be presented to Jordan's Board of Education.
"We have a lot of growth," said Burke Jolley, the district's business manager. "We are expecting to do another bond election within the next year or two. Whatever we're short in this bond, we'll add to the next bond, if you will."
Voters in the Davis district will be asked to approve $230 million in bonds on June 27 that will in part fund projects that could not be paid for with previous bond money.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
