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CIP faces rising construction costs; referendum projects may need gap funding
Summary
Board heard a capital improvement plan update showing major maintenance and school-construction projects under way and citing national construction-price inflation that could increase referendum project costs by roughly $200 million over prior estimates.
Chesterfield County Public Schools staff presented the FY2026 proposed capital improvement plan (CIP) on Jan. 23 and warned that national school-construction inflation has pushed planning estimates substantially higher than referendum-era assumptions.
Officials told the board that construction-cost indices since the start of the pandemic put new-school building inflation 30–35% above pre-pandemic baselines. Staff estimated that the referendum projects — originally planned at approximately $375 million in bond authorization plus other funding — could face a funding shortfall on the order of $200 million under current cost assumptions.
The CIP…
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