Voc-ed school may be facing $2.1m shortfall

August 28, 2005

DARRELL L. BREESE/Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - Construction hasn't even started, but a vocational high school/career center for which voters approved an $18.6-million bond two years ago may already be $2.1 million over budget.

Borough voters passed the school bond to pay for the construction of the vocational school next to Teeland Middle School, but increased construction costs may lead to the Mat-Su Borough School District getting a lesser facility than what was actually requested.

The budget shortfall was discovered when the architectural firm of McCool, Carlson and Green presented a schematic design to the school board on Aug. 17.

Mat-Su Borough project manager Bob Bechtold said those numbers may be a little deceiving.

"Initially, we are underfunded for the project," Bechtold said. "But the proposed budget includes $600,000 for land acquisition, which can be deducted because we already own the site, and some other budget saving plans that we have planned. We're dealing with design estimates and haven't put the construction out for bid yet."

School board president Mike Chmielewski ex-pressed concern about the shortfall, but was optimistic that the final product would be what voters wanted when they approved the bond in 2003.

"It's a fact of modern life that construction cost are escalating so rapidly that no one can keep up," Chmielewski said. "The whole project still feels good to me. This is the first part of the construction process, getting the design in. I believe that despite the way things look now that we're on track to complete the project on budget."

Possible solutions to complete the project involve either asking the borough assembly for additional money or examining options to reduce construction costs and eliminate some elements of design.

Bechtold reported that the design included the culinary tourism element of the school as an alternative element, if the budget allowed for it.

"What the design calls for is a first-class facility," Bechtold said. "Every element will have the latest state-of-the-art design and equipment. Even if we have to drop the culinary wing, we are in good shape."

Bechtold said the bond includes $750,000 in a contingency fund that could be used, if necessary, but he had no plans to tap those funds except as a last resort. He also mentioned other possible sources of funding within the borough to cover the budget shortfall.

"There is about $4 million remaining in reserve from other school construction projects," Bechtold said. "The money is from a voter-approved bond project to build Meadow Lakes Elementary, Teeland Middle School and Sherrod Elementary, which all came in under budget. I guess that if the borough had to, that money could be tapped into."

Contact Darrell Breese at

352-2267 or darrell.breese@ frontiersman.com.