As Atlantic City Public Schools celebrates the groundbreaking of its new administration building, a review of official school district records reveals a $5.6 million difference between the amount identified for the project in the district's advertised budget and the construction contract presented to the Board of Education in September. SouthJerseyNewsBeat.com reports the district's publicly advertised 2026-27 budget identifies $21.5 million for construction of a new administration building.However, a September 30 special Board of Education meeting agenda calls for awarding a $27,132,590 construction contract to T.N. Ward Company of Atlantic City.The proposed contract is $5,632,590 higher than the amount identified for the building in the April budget, a difference of approximately 26.2%.