County Council members sharply questioned Board of Education officials who asked last night for additional money to complete building projects whose costs had been underestimated.
The longest and most heated discussion centered on a request for an additional $500,000 to upgrade media centers, which are basically libraries converted to include computer stations. Because of low estimates and higher-than-anticipated construction costs, the average price for each of the seven schools where the work will be done more than doubled, from $50,000 each to $120,000 each.
Council members expressed frustration that education officials could not answer many of their questions, such as what the exact breakdown was for each part of each project. They demanded explanations of how officials arrived at the original estimate of $50,000, how the new estimate was devised and who was responsible. And they were taking names.
"I don't see the upturn in the construction industry," said James E. "Ed" DeGrange, who owns a Glen Burnie hardware store and deals on a daily basis with people in the construction industry. "I know there is really a downturn. So where are these estimates [coming from]? Are they pulled out of the air?"
Rodell Phaire, director of facilities and construction planning for the school system, explained that the estimates were based on the cost of renovating media centers seven years ago. No one had updated the estimates until architects recently came back with schematics showing the projects cost double what school budget officials had thought they would.
Although Mr. Phaire took much of the heat, Gregory V. Nourse, a county budget analyst who has been hired as the Board of Education's new director of fiscal services, told the council the low estimates were not Mr. Phaire's fault.
"He's simply trying to justify what was done by others," Mr. Nourse said.
Mr. Phaire, formerly an engineer with the county Department of Public Works, has only been in the post since his predecessor, Michael K. Raible, resigned last March to move to Charlotte, N.C.
Mr. Nourse said the work now required is much more complicated and involves removing asbestos-contaminated materials, installing carpeting and air conditioning, knocking out walls and installing electrical outlets for computers.
Council Vice Chairman George F. Bachman said the price tag was part of what concerned him. "Anytime you see a project come in 140 percent more than was estimated, it raises a lot of eyebrows. It certainly raised my eyebrows," Mr. Bachman said.
But the Linthicum Democrat said he was even more concerned about where the money to pay for the cost overrun would come from -- funds left over from the project to create Andover Middle School, which is in his district. That project is currently running under budget.
Also last night, the council heard testimony on a bill to transfer $900,000 left over from the Andover project to pay for roof replacements and work on heating, air-conditioning and ventilation systems throughout the district.
Sharon Whitmore of Brooklyn Park told the council she would prefer to have money left in the Andover account until the project is completed, in case there are cost overruns.
"We implore that you leave all the money in the Andover Middle School conversion project until the project is completed, until we can see that all the bases are covered," she said.
The council voted to postpone votes on both measures for at least two weeks to give school officials time to answer council members' questions.