The Columbia Daily Tribune

September 13, 2005

Gridiron deal OK'd by district
by Megan Means, Staff Writer

The Columbia Board of Education last night took the next step with plans to install artificial turf on Hickman and Rock Bridge high school athletic fields.

The board voted 6-1 to give district officials permission to seek bids for turf installation. Deputy Superintendent Jacque Cowherd said the district will make its share of the funding - about $600,000 - available in June. Each school has to find donations to cover the balance. The total cost is estimated at more than $1 million for both fields. The bids will help schools set a final fundraising target.

Board member Darin Preis cast the lone vote against the plan, which would use money from the capital improvement budget to upgrade the fields. He places higher priority on items such as air conditioning, roof repairs and the space crunch at the Columbia Area Career Center.

"I would never argue against athletic activity," Preis said, but "I would still prioritize other things."

The board will have a final vote on the issue when firms return bids. The district expects to pay about $250,000 per field, plus $100,000 to add proper drainage.

Most board members favored the plan because the new fields would expand opportunities. Students have limited access to the fields because of weather and the need to preserve the grass during football season. Artificial turf would support more than 300 activities per year on each field, compared with about 30 now.

"I think the thing that sold me was the physical education usage of it," board member Elton Fay said. At Hickman, he said, it’s impossible for 2,000 students to get adequate time in the school gym.

Board member Karla DeSpain said the new turf extends benefits to junior high students, too.

"Right now, those games are being canceled constantly," she said.

The district plans to pay its share of the costs from revenue it saves by not maintaining the grass fields, about $25,000 per year at each site. Cowherd said artificial surfaces have annual maintenance costs of about $1,000. Manufacturers say the product will last 12 to 15 years.

Preis asked whether the school district and city could build a community facility to avoid duplicating pricey fields, but others said that would be more expensive because city parks lack infrastructure, such as bleachers.

District Athletic Director Bruce Whitesides said one benefit of the current plan is that soccer players would not have to drive to Cosmo Park. "That’s an exposure we’re risking right now," he said.

In other board business, Assistant Superintendent Cheryl Cozette presented attendance and satisfaction survey results from the district’s summer school programs, including the Summer Adventure program managed by Newton Learning. It drew 4,745 students, 725 fewer than last year. A total of 5,878 students participated in summer programs.

Average daily attendance increased to 92 percent of summer enrollment from 88 percent last year, and nearly 77 percent of students earned gift cards worth $50 to $100 for missing no more than two days. Three students donated a total of $200 to the Ronald McDonald House in a program set up by the district.

Parent surveys showed greater satisfaction in key areas such as transportation. Overall, 88 percent of 2,100 respondents said the Newton program was a positive experience.

The school district will monitor standardized test scores for summer school students and present results this fall.