Board accepts $250,000 pledge from boosters and approves digital scoreboard purchase

The Batavia USD 101 Board of Education adopted a resolution to accept a five-year pledge of $250,000 from the Batavia Bulldog Boosters and approved a $171,325 purchase of a digital scoreboard for Batavia High School on April 20.

According to presentations at the meeting, the booster club is pledging $50,000 per year over five years to underwrite a new LED scoreboard and video display for the stadium. Mark (district operations) and Dave Andrews (associate principal for operations and athletics) told trustees that the boosters already have about $200,000 on hand and that the club’s executive board voted unanimously to make the pledge. District staff said the boosters’ fundraising previously supported the high‑school turf installation.

Board members asked how shortfalls would be handled and who is responsible for ongoing maintenance. Mark said the district must purchase and install the scoreboard up front; the boosters will donate funds to the district over five years. If pledged funds are delayed, the district would cover the cost until booster payments are received. Andrews said the scoreboard uses LED panels and described a two‑year parts warranty and a one‑year installation warranty; routine maintenance and any out‑of‑warranty repairs would be the district’s responsibility.

Trustees also discussed community uses of the board, including stadium movie nights, youth-football events, marching-band presentations, physical‑education instructional displays and opportunities to sell digital advertising to help offset long‑term costs. Administrators said the new board integrates with existing audiovisual systems and can support curricular and extracurricular uses.

Outcome: The board adopted the pledge resolution and approved the purchase of the scoreboard from Fairplay for $171,325 in separate roll-call votes.