The Troup County School Board unanimously approved a $15.5 million guaranteed maximum price for construction of the LaGrange High School athletic facility at Thursday night’s meeting. 

There was no discussion on the facility Thursday after the board spent several minutes talking about the price during Monday night’s work session. Board member Brandon Brooks was not at Thursday night’s meeting, but the rest of the board voted to approve the GMP. 

The price for the gymnasium has gone up since it was originally discussed and approved in education SPLOST V.

Original estimates, completed years ago, had the cost of the LaGrange gymnasium and Troup gymnasium at around $9 million apiece, but both prices have increased since that time. The board has said on several occasions that the original estimates were off, and contractor Ra-Lin has previously said that tariffs on steel and other factors have also led to price increases. 

The board approved a construction budget of $13.4 million for the LaGrange athletic facility last year, but the GMP with Ra-Lin wasn’t official until Thursday. The increase from that price is partially due to a contingency amount of $595,392 and $750,000 for fixtures and other equipment.

The Troup gymnasium was approved in August with a GMP of $14.1 million.