Because of situations both in the state capitol and in the Middle East, Wilkes County may not be able to afford to build the proposed new high-school/middle-school complex, at least not now.

Wilkes County Board of Education Chief Financial Officer Dean Ware said that even with the proposed 13.8 percent tax increase that would make up for a shortfall in state funding, the school system is now apparently going to be short several million dollars in covering the new school's ultimate construction costs.

That realization came Monday night when Torrance Construction Company representatives gave the Board of Education their "guaranteed maximum price." Steel prices and fuel prices have risen dramatically, and with the Middle East very unstable, the prices could shoot up even further during the next year. So to protect itself, the company had to give the board a maximum price that was breathtakingly higher that any previously given.

"It's millions of dollars," said Dean Ware. "Even with the tax increase, which I hated to have to ask for, we're not going to be even close to having enough to pay for the new school."

There will be public hearings today and this evening, and again next Thursday, for the proposed tax increase. The public is invited to come and comment today, Thursday, July 27, at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., and on August 3 at 9 a.m at the Board of Education, 313-A North Alexander Ave. in Washington.

The board announced two weeks ago its intention to increase the property taxes it will levy by 13.8 percent over the rollback millage rate. The increase, Superintendent of Schools Joyce Williams said, had become necessary because the amount of money coming from the state had decreased, while needs and costs had increased.

A year ago, at the beginning of the project, she said, "the board was advised by the state that Wilkes County was entitled to approximately $9 million that could be used toward the construction of new schools. It was later determined that the Wilkes County Board of Education would not be receiving $9 million, but rather $6,749,065, the difference being a $2,058,119 state required local participation."

All along, Williams and Ware had been concerned that the increase in construction costs would push the shortfall even higher, but they never dreamed that world events would drive possible future steel prices so high that it would put the entire project in danger.

Now, with final plans in hand and bids ready to let, a sudden jump in the possible price tag has changed everything.

Torrance Construction is having to hedge its bets with an extremely high guaranteed maximum price, Ware said, because the growing trouble in the Middle East could make steel and fuel far more expensive later this year or next year when the project is well underway. "They say they expect it will cost far less than the maximum, but they can't risk losing millions of dollars if they're wrong," he said. "They're just being careful."

The question the Board of Education will now have to decide is whether they can postpone the building project, and if so, for how long. The state's dwindling contribution does have a time limit, Ware said, and he is consulting with the state Board of Education to get more precise information on that limit.

Board members have also put on hold several expensive parts of the school complex. "The engineers call it 'value engineering,'" Ware said, "but we're looking at what we have to have now, vice what we'd like to have in a few years. We can't build all we want at once."

The board had already postponed future projects and eliminated others to meet the known budget shortfall, Williams said. To possibly free up more funds for construction, the board is carefully reviewing expenditures that had been historically designated for SPLOST, and is postponing large-scale purchases until they know they can pay for them.

But the new numbers put everything in question. Despite all the plans for the new school complex, Ware said, "Right now, I can't sit here and tell you that's the direction we're going to go. It doesn't make any sense to go halfway down that road."

After discussions are complete with state board officials and the local board gets a determination of what it can and cannot do with state funds and when, the decision to ask for a tax increase may be changed.

"We could go back and recommend to set the millage rate at the rollback rate," he said. "We just don't know right now."

And that makes public participation at today's hearings even more critical. The hearings are set for today, Thursday, July 27 at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., and on August 3 at 9 a.m. The tax increase will be voted on - or not - by the Wilkes County Commission on August 3.