Comparisons between similar – but ultimately different – facilities can be tricky. But here goes.

Saint Joseph’s College in Standish held a gala event Saturday night to show off its brand-new Harold Alfond Hall.

The 50,000-square-foot building is a beauty, sitting in the center of the campus with a view of Sebago Lake and the White Mountains. While some of the finishing touches are still missing, the building pleased the Sisters of Mercy, who sponsor the Catholic college, as well as the students, faculty, big donors and other benefactors invited to the party.

It should. The building has technology built in. A short speech by the college’s president was simulcast throughout the building, which also has the latest in wireless and Internet technology.

The building has four floors, a 150-seat seat auditorium, a 56-seat lecture hall, seven seminar rooms and 22 classrooms.

Refinements include 18 tons of copper, cherry paneling, air conditioning and new furniture for all the rooms, including 50 faculty offices. There are a few leather couches, three computer labs, a faculty lounge, a student lounge and more than 1,000 desk chairs. There also are a new entrance, new road and extensive landscaping. It’s a swank building, and the campus looks great.

Price tag: about $10 million.

The proposed new Park Avenue school in Auburn offers about 44,000 square feet for 350 students in kindergarten through grade 6. The estimated price is $9.7 million, of which the state will pay 84 percent. The school department is seeking another $635,000 to build a larger gym and add air conditioning.

There would be 17 classrooms, music and art spaces, and a place for scientific experiments. Plus new furniture.

As part of the cost, the school department would have to buy 10 acres on two parcels for about $280,000, a hurdle Saint Joseph’s avoided because it already owned the land. Also, a gym and cafeteria add to the cost.

Price tag: About $10.4 million.

The state says the cost for the new Auburn school isn’t out of line, and the cost for Lewiston’s new elementary school will likely be in the same ballpark. (Lewiston already owns its land.)

Construction costs are going through the roof. Steel, which is in great demand in China, has doubled in cost since June 2003. Other construction materials are also more expensive. Contractors bidding on the school will factor in even higher prices because construction wouldn’t begin until 2005.

Auburn needs a new school. Lake Street Elementary is a relic. It’s too small and too old.

But there appears to be an almost cavalier attitude toward cost. The new school won’t raise local taxes, but that’s only because other debt is being paid off. And the state’s majority-share of the price still comes out of our pockets, even if it is spread across Maine.

Saint Joseph’s is raising $4 million from donors for the new building, is kicking in $2 million in cash and will borrow the rest. It seems the college got a lot for its $10 million.

We have to wonder: If the Auburn school system were forced to raise the money for the new school on its own – without the state picking up most of the tab – would the price be as high?