BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Rollover inflation from the pandemic, coupled with President Trump’s tariffs on wood and steel, has sent material costs through the roof. Leaving contractors and public officials with strained budgets, grappling with how to spend tax dollars most efficiently.

For government-funded projects, contracts are awarded through a bidding process based on estimated costs at the time of the bid. Judith Anderson, CSRS Architectural Program Director, oversees these contracts for East Baton Rouge Parish Schools. “We have a budget and a scope of work, and before we even kick it off, we make sure the budget is aligned with the scope,” Anderson said.

However, unforeseen factors like tariffs can disrupt those initial estimates, causing the final price to exceed the bid. Adam Bou

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