Tariffs come at a bad time for school district

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- No one ever said building one (or two) new high schools would be easy.

Not in this city. To win voter approval, supporters of Proposition 2 must navigate voter mistrust, antipathy for property taxes and resistance to change. If only you could heat those old buildings with nostalgia.

Less than a month from the election, the St. Joseph School District faces another obstacle: steel prices.

President Donald Trump is roiling markets with his on-again, off-again, on-again threats of tariffs. As of this writing, it’s hard to keep up, but a 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum is set to take effect this week.

Whether it happens or not, the damage is already done because anticipating tariffs is as problematic as the real thing. The impact isn’t only felt on Wall Street; any construction project could be affected.

Just south of St. Joseph, construction paused on the New American Royal campus in Kansas City, Kansas. Officials in Kansas City didn’t blame steel prices but said “construction has outpaced the public financing process.” That’s a wonkish way of saying something unanticipated happened.

The school district isn’t the only entity in St. Joseph that could face higher construction costs. A 25% hike in a key building material will drive up the cost of appliances, cars, homes, bridges, and public building projects.

The school district, because of the April election, just happens to be first on the list.

This doesn’t mean the district or the St. Joseph Board of Education should abandon the dream of building a new high school. Far from it.

All students deserve access to the same high-quality academic offerings and facilities. The district moves St. Joseph closer to that ideal with Proposition 2.

But that’s the why. For voters, the how is just as important. To appeal to middle-of-the-road voters – those who have doubts but also want to see the schools move forward -- the district should provide as much information as possible on building plans and mitigation strategies for rising costs.

Even as the economy teeters, the district can deliver on new schools. St. Joseph built Central High School, Hyde School and Lindbergh School during the depths of the Great Depression.

There may never be a good time to get a $157 million bond issue passed, especially in a change-resistant community. But here we are.