The guaranteed maximum price of the new Cohn Intermediate School in West Baton Rouge Parish has jumped from $18 million to over $25 million, an increase the superintendent said could not be avoided amid high tariffs and the rising cost of steel.

“Tariffs could go up in six months, and we’re still guaranteed this,” Superintendent Chandler Smith said to the school board about the $25 million price tag. “It’ll never be as cheap as today.”

President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum imports that took effect in June. His administration added over 400 derivative products to the list Tuesday. And it isn’t foreign steel alone getting costlier — domestic producers also announced price increases, according to The New York Times, as a result of the protectionist measure

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