The Centralia High School Board of Education approved a resolution Thursday evening to authorize the issuance of bonds to fund a new synthetic turf surface for Evers Field on the CHS campus.
The resolution allows the issuance of up to $1,450,000 in general obligation school bonds. Last month, the board approved a contract with GeoSurfaces for the purchase of a synthetic turf system at a price of $1,415,000, as well as a $40,000 concrete base.
CHS Superintendent Chuck Lane says the next step is to publish a notice of the district’s intent to issue bonds for the project, followed by a public hearing in March. He says the district anticipates actually receiving the money for the project around May.
The bonds will be paid off with money generated by the 1-cent sales tax. Lane says the tax has been generating around $400,000 per year, of which approximately $140,000 to $150,000 would go toward the turf project.
“Those monies have been very stable. They’ve actually been increasing, so we feel confident that we won’t have any problems paying for it. Again, that’s what those funds are for, so that doesn’t take away from anything else that we’re doing here, any salaries or programs or anything.”]School officials expect the installation of the surface will start after track season ends in May and will be completed before the start of football practice late this summer.
In other action, the board voted to set graduation ceremonies for 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 19, and to schedule the next board meeting for Monday, March 25. The board also accepted a letter of retirement from full-time aide Debbie Shoemaker, effective at the end of the 2023-2024 school year, and approved the hiring of Mike Roth as an assistant football coach for the 2024-2025 school year.
