Manweller offers bill to reduce school construction costs

OLYMPIA - Rep. Matt Manweller introduced a bill to reduce the costs of school construction Wednesday in Olympia.

House Bill 1255, would exempt new public school construction projects from prevailing wage requirements, including hourly wage, usual benefits, and overtime paid in the largest city in each county to the majority of the workers, according to the bill.

"Prevailing wage law is pushing our school construction costs up about 30 to 35 percent. We simply cannot afford those costs in rural communities," said Manweller, R-Ellensburg.

In 2012, 16 school districts received more than $200 million from the state School Construction Assistance Program for construction and modernization projects. Manweller said many school districts across the state cannot get a bond passed for new school construction because communities feel the proposed costs are too much.

"This bill would help our students, our teachers and taxpayers," Manweller said. "Our kids deserve to learn in a healthy and safe environment." Manweller said some proposed projects in the 13th District would cost between $260 and $360 per square foot.

"Many schools in the 13th District are very old. If we could get this bill through the legislative process, we could build more modern, technologically-advanced, green schools," Manweller said.

The bill was introduced during a public hearing in the House Labor and Workforce Development Committee.