The second report by PricewaterhouseCoopers on the £9.3 billion programme, which aims to rebuild or renew England's state secondary schools, said most headteachers believed there was a shortfall, sometimes a large one, between the funding they received and the costs they incurred. It recommended that councils work with schools to put cost modelling programmes in place.
The report also recommended local authorities increase the involvement of pupils in the design of schools.
The Association of School and College Leaders said it welcomed the report but had concerns about funding of the programme. ASCL policy director Malcolm Trobe said: "There are many positive aspects of BSF that the report correctly identifies and it is good to note its recommendation that more resources be transferred from local authorities to schools to free up staff to focus on BSF."
But he added: "Some schools are under pressure to make significant contributions from their revenue budgets that they cannot afford to make up the gaps in BSF funding. The great pace at which some of the projects are rushed through does not always give time for considered decision making."
Sedgehill School, in Lewisham, the 50th school built or refurbished under the programme, opened yesterday a year ahead of schedule.
