Cobb school system sees jump in construction prices

The bonanza of cheap construction prices has come to an end for big projects in Cobb County.

A county school official asked the school board Wednesday to end a financing program designed to take advantage of recessionary price drops. Last year, the board agreed to issue about $150 million in short-term construction notes through 2013 to expedite sales-tax-funded construction.

But Doug Shepard, who runs the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax construction program, is now counseling discontinuation of such borrowing because of a rise in construction pricing.