Florida schools districts may be spending too much on building schools. That’s according to a report compiled by Representative Erik Fresen.
Fresen says the cost-per student station is exceeding what he believes are already high caps set by the state in 2006. Cost overruns occurred even during the recession, when unemployment was high, and construction was down.
“All those factors that you’d think would be the best years for these cost overruns, were actually the most terrifying. If you look at 2008, which is when the recession starts, you have cost overruns at $423 million,” he said.
House staff looked at each project going back nearly a decade. According to the analysis, districts spent $1.3 billion over what the cost should have been under the state caps.
