OCALA, FL (352today.com) – The brand-new South Marion High School, home of the Bears, is currently also home to a higher-than-planned construction cost of about $177 million, roughly $47 million above the original planning figure of $130 million.
At its Tuesday, October 27, 2026, school board meeting, the Marion County School Board approved a $11.8 million compensation amendment for the third-floor fit-out of Building 1 at the school, which opened to students on August 10, 2026. Wharton-Smith is the construction manager on the project. The work covers chemistry laboratories and related instructional and support spaces.
Superintendent of Marion County Public Schools, Danielle Brewer, said the campus was originally planned as an approximately $130 million, 1,800-student-station facility. According to Brewer, the scope and capacity later expanded to include additional student stations plus enhanced academic, fine arts, CTE, auditorium, dining, and athletic spaces. Because the project has been delivered through multiple guaranteed maximum price (GMP) phases, final costs will not be known until all phases, owner direct purchases, savings, and remaining funds are fully reconciled. The current construction contract total stands at $177,060,937.
In previous reporting, 352today noted that the School Board had already agreed in April 2026 to move forward with the third-floor build-out at South Marion High School as a way to add roughly 700 student stations and avoid portables amid faster-than-expected enrollment growth. At that time, district officials estimated the third-floor work at a little more than $12 million total, including just under $10 million for construction, and warned that delaying the project could nearly double the cost while also forcing the district to place temporary classrooms on the new campus. The $11.8 million amendment approved Tuesday is the formal next step in that earlier decision.
Board member Nancy Thrower called the increase substantial. She asked Brewer to re-read the list of additions she mentioned prior to her comments. After hearing the list again, Thrower said she was under the impression that all of those spaces were part of the original GMP, but that maybe she was mistaken.
Once Brewer clarified the fiscal cost, Thrower commented that the amount was “quite an increase.”
Board member Lori Conrad then interjected and asked Brewer if she had information to share about a high school that was recently built, so that the public could compare numbers.
“If you look back at 2024, Innovation High School in Orange County was built for $223 million with 3,200 student stations. We have 500 fewer student stations, and our budget is $50 million less in 2026,” Brewer said.
“Yes, the $223 million school down in Orange County. I don’t know how they plan their project. Maybe that’s what they planned for in the beginning, but we certainly didn’t plan for a 130-million-dollar project to escalate to 177 million dollars,” Thrower said.
Thrower, an outgoing board member, described the finished campus as beautiful and “incredible for students.” She credited staff for overcoming challenges so the school could open. At the same time, she criticized the cost growth.
“As an outgoing board member, I think that it’s just critical, in terms of maintaining community confidence and trust, to make sure that our policies and our practices and our transparency regarding any construction project is truly without any shred of impropriety. This school, to me, just seems like the gift that keeps on taking, and it’s unfortunate. I am hopeful that future boards will never be in the same position,” Thrower said.
Thrower went on to say that she hopes it is a “live-and-learn” situation.
“A cost escalation from an original $130 million to $177 million is unacceptable in my eyes as a taxpayer, and I just would be very committed in the future to making sure that we hold tight on our timelines and our procedures and processes to ensure this never happens again,” she said.
Board member Allison Campbell recused herself from the vote. The $11.8 million amendment passed 4-0.