Schools
Batavia Taxpayers: Do We Really Need $13 Million Athletic Fields?
Residents will ask the Batavia School Board to reconsider athletic fields plan, artificial turf.
Batavia residents are planning to ask the School Board to reconsider its approval of the $13 million athletic fields plan.
In July, the School Board voted 5-0 to add the athletic-field construction to its capital-improvement plan, although it set no timetable or funding method for paying for the improvements.
On Tuesday night, residents plan to address the board during the public comments portion of the meeting and will ask the School Board to reconsider its approval of the $13 million athletic fields plan, Batavia resident Sylvia Keppel said.
"We will have people addressing various topics, including the destruction of the arboretum (with input from the Morton Arboretum and city arborist), the dangers of artificial turf, and this project's effect on taxpayers already overburdened by a high tax rate and broken promises," Keppel said.
A committee of school officials, parents and boosters determined that the they would prefer to keep practice on campus and laid out the $13 million plan to get that done.
The plan would eliminate the arboretum on the southwest corner of the school campus, build two artificial-turf fields, one for the traditional football/soccer game field and a multi-use practice field located south of the stadium. A detention pond would be put under the stadium, according to the district's Sports Facilities Master Plan document.
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The plan also calls for 2,500-seat bleachers and press box, an eight-lane track, a competition baseball field, a competition softball field, a practice baseball, soccer and softball field.
