From the time the $67.7 million school bond was passed in January of 2002, to actual groundbreaking, demolition, and construction at each of the district's nine schools, a lot of things can happen.

According to David Shunter, Bedford Central School District's construction manager of Andron Construction, because the application for Mount Kisco Elementary School got delayed at the New York State Education Department for almost a year, the current total is $1.8 million overbudget. That amount includes estimated overruns for work at Fox Lane High School, Mount Kisco Elementary School, and Pound Ridge Elementary School.

Mr. Shunter, together with John Brice, architect from Geddis Partnership, told the board at a meeting on Wednesday, July 21, that the average escalation price, which had been steady for a very long time at 3.5 percent, had now risen to 12.5 percent.

Since 2002, when the bond was passed, steel prices have more than doubled, contractors have raised their rates, and general inflation has raised the cost of construction that was calculated for the 2001 bond.

"In the past six months, inflation in the construction business has risen because of rising steel and concrete prices," said Mr. Shunter. "The rapid escalation in the pricing is reflected in the bidding."

Because the board is expecting bids to be higher on some projects, they are considering changes to some of the plans that may affect the final cost.

Board member Brad Sacks said that hallway ventilation was never part of the bond, although it was something they would've liked to do in all of the schools.

"We don't have it in any of the schools, so it's easy to take out of Mount Kisco," he said. "It was something that the architects asked us to do if there was money there, so we don't view it as a cut - it's just something we are not going to do."

Mr. Sacks said the ventilation in the classrooms will be installed in Mount Kisco and in Pound Ridge and West Patent. "So chances are that won't be something that's cut from Bedford Hills," he said.

According to Mr. Betz, preliminary work has already started with taking up the floors in Mount Kisco Elementary School, but some surprises were found.

"We had some unforeseen floor conditions - we found some asbestos and had to do emergency repairs," Mr. Betz said. "The floors will be ready for the start of the school year."

Bids for work on Fox Lane High School will be going out sometime in November, with the work starting in January 2005, said Mr. Betz, after the additions and renovations are approved by the State Education Department.

"When we looked at estimates for the high school, they were about $34.5 million," said Mr. Shunter. "That's one million dollars overbudget. We tried to get the cost down, but $1.4 million was eaten up by escalating costs."

To date, hazardous material removal has begun at the high school. "The floors will be concrete slabs with sealer over them," said Mr. Betz. "It will look like the dungeons from the Count of Monte Cristo."

Mr. Betz said that the construction steering committee and the architects had tried to get the budget down by removing plans for the tennis courts and the lower parking lot for the students.

Reducing the thickness of the pavement in parking areas and driveways was another consideration that could possibly save up to $35,000.

Mr. Betz updated the board on construction projects for each school. "The additions for the new library and new classrooms at

Pound Ridge Elementary School are fully under way," he said "We are doing the hazardous material removal, and the hallways were found to have additional asbestos, which is being removed."

New windows should be arriving at the school, and the gym floor is being ripped out. "During the fall, work will be done in the gym and phys-ed classes will be outside," said Mr. Betz.

Mr. Betz said the project is currently estimated to be $900,00 overbudget, "but we hope to complete it by August 2005."

At the Fox Lane Middle School, plans continue to replace the roofs on all three academic houses. Reorganizing the driveways and student drop-offs are part of the high school project. Mr. Betz said other middle school projects are close to the final design.

At West Patent Elementary School the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) are completed, along with new fire alarms, air systems, and electrical upgrades. Also completed are exterior masonry column repairs and partial upgrades to the septic system.

At Bedford Hills Elementary School, construction on the front steps and terrace is expected to start in November, and a partial HVAC system is near design but on hold.

For Bedford Village Elementary School, an upgrade has been completed on the fire alarm, and plans to pave the parking lot are on hold. The estimate for the school is slightly under budget.

"We are solving enrollment issues, which originally caused us to do the bond referendum," said Mr. Betz. "Unless we had passed the bond, we would run out of space."

Board president Paula Kumar said that the current estimates are close to target, but she regrets the delays that held up construction. Now that additional funds are needed to complete the projects, "We need to look at setting up a capital reserve fund to prepare."

"Also, there may be additional issues that arise from our engineers report that we are going to need to deal with sooner rather than later," said Ms. Kumar

Mr. Sacks said that the bond included a five-percent design-and construction contingency.

"We don't want to say, 'just plow ahead' and worry about it later, and then not have enough money to finish the project," said Mr. Sacks. "We are going to build everything we are supposed to build, and whether we reduce the size of something or move something around, it's still not going to change what we originally said we are going to build."

"This bond got tremendous support because it's `nuts and bolts,"' said Mr. Sacks. "There's no in-ground swimming pool or fancy gym, which is why the cuts will be a little tougher."