A capital vote for the new Castle Rushen High School will not happen in June and is “very unlikely” before the election.
Chief Financial Officer Caldric Randall told the Public Accounts Committee that getting the project through the approval process in time would be “challenging”.
When asked directly whether a June capital vote would proceed, Mr Randall said: “It’s very unlikely.”
Asked about July, he repeated: “Very unlikely.”
Timetable
Treasury Minister Chris Thomas insisted he had not slowed down the project, saying: “I haven’t slowed down the timetable that was in place.”
The school is one of several projects going through the Project Development Fund process, designed to identify reliable costs and options before seeking Tynwald approval.
“What you’ve got in the PDF process is three and a half million for the project development process,” Mr Thomas said.
“We’ll actually have a reliable estimate related to the design and then we’ll have options and choices for you.”
However, construction costs have risen significantly, with the minister citing pressure on “freight and construction materials” in recent months.
Committee chair Juan Watterson expressed frustration at repeated delays, noting Tynwald has “never actually been asked to make a decision as to how much it’s willing to spend on a high school”.
“It seems easier administratively to kick it down the road for being too expensive, but when it does come back, it’s just going to cost even more money,” Mr Watterson said.