KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Blue Springs School District isn’t immune to the effects that rising costs of goods and services have on construction projects.
The district is pushing forward with work on an addition to Blue Springs High School that will be home to 630 freshmen in 36 classrooms, including collaboration spaces.
The addition — and other work across the district — was made possible when voters passed a 2021 ballot question that authorized the district to issue $107 million in general obligation bonds.
Work on the addition is the clearest example of how the district is navigating higher costs.
“Our construction partners have done an awesome job with this,” said Dr. Charlie Belt, assistant superintendent of operations at the school district. “But yes, it certainly has limited our focus compared to how far the dollar would go three, four or five years ago.”
JE Dunn Construction Senior Project Manager Mike Chiles says the construction industry has been susceptible to rising costs.
“There’s definitely a shortage of labor with all the work needed right now,” Chiles said. “And then the supply chain has been up and down and volatile, so that’s had an impact as well.”
That volatility can sometimes throw a wrench in the growth plans of public entities like the Blue Springs School District, which operates on a 10-year master facility plan.
Chiles says continued community support from district stakeholders and planning have been helpful to allow projects to continue.
“Our job is to provide great learning spaces so that learning can happen,” he said. “That’s job one — making sure our learning spaces are awesome.”
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