Synthetic Turf Fields Pushed Off for Two Francis Howell High Schools

Synthetic turf fields are coming to Francis Howell North and Francis Howell Central High School eventually, but it's still unclear when it will happen, members of the Francis Howell Board of Education said Thursday. 

The issue came up  after the board approved purchasing new new heating and air conditioning units at Barnwell Middle School and Fairmount Elementary School for $5,135,500. 

The money for the two projects will come from leftover funds from a bond passed by voters in November 2008. Voters approved a $78.5 million bond to improve facilities around the District. Francis Howell has used all but $11.1 million of the bond. 

The administration ranked the 12 projects they'd like to see completed The list in order of priority. With the Athletic Complex approved in February and the HVAC systems unanimously approved on Thursday, the District has accounted for the top three items on the priority list and has $3,564,500 million left in bond money. All three projects are slated to begin this summer.

Board Member Mike Hoehn proposed moving turf field projects higher on the list. The estimated cost for both fields is $1.4 million based on the cost of the turf field at Francis Howell.He said he wants to capitalize on the current favorable economic climate and get a good deal for the District. 

"If we want until the following year, it's going to cost us more to complete this project," Hoehn said. 

The current list has Barnwell Middle and Hollenbeck Middle science labs at No. 4 with an estimated cost of $500,000. At No. 5 is restroom renovations at Barnwell Middle, Castlio Elementary, Fairmount Elementary and Becky David Elementary for a cost of $1.65 million. Completing those two projects would leave just $14,500 in bond money. 

Mark Lafata said changing the order would be making decisions from the dais against the advice of the administration. He said with only $14,500 projected to be left after all six projects are completed, the district is operating in a tight space. 

"If we stumble on anything, this number will continue to go down," Lafata said. "We don't have a margin of error."

Lafata said that if the board changed the order of the projects and something went wrong, they may not have the money to finish all six projects.

Hoehn countered that that the even with unforeseen expenses, the district could always use the reserve funds to pay for difference.

"We have $40 million sitting in reserves that's not helping kids," he said.

Only Mike Sommer supported Hoehn's proposal. The other board members voted against the proposal. Following the vote, Sommer called the decision a grave error. He said that new board president Marty Hoditis and new member Eric Seider ran on a campaign that supported the turf fields. By turning them down, he said, the board was sending the opposite message.

Seider countered that the board didn't deny turf fields, they simply decided to not speed up the project.

"I don't believe that the turf fields were on the agenda for discussion tonight," he said. "... I don't wanna manage from the dais."