Beaverton board approves Westview High synthetic turf contract over one dissent

The Beaverton School District Board of Directors voted 6–1 on Aug. 12 to approve a contract authorization for Westview High School’s baseball/softball multiuse synthetic turf design. Board member Dr. Tammy Carpenter cast the lone no vote, citing health and environmental concerns.

The item had been pulled from the consent agenda for separate consideration. A motion to approve the contract authorization passed with six yes votes and one no, the board chair announced after the roll call.

Dr. Carpenter said she regularly opposes new turf installations. “The players, professional players, unions, work really hard to try and get turf removed because of the orthopedic injuries associated with artificial turf, [and] question[s] of microplastics both in our environment and potentially impacting the health of our students,” she said.

District staff member Casey told the board the Westview turf project was part of the 2022 bond and is the final installation for the district’s six comprehensive high schools. “I’m not aware of any additional injuries. This was part of the 2022 bond campaign. The Westview project is the last of our six comprehensive high schools to get the baseball/softball fields installed,” Casey said.

Board discussion was brief. After questions and staff explanation, the board chair called for a voice/hand vote; the chair announced a 6–1 majority carried the motion and the contract authorization was approved.

The contract authorization is for design of a multiuse synthetic turf field for baseball and softball at Westview High School. The district did not provide contract dollar amounts or the vendor name in the discussion recorded at the meeting; those details were not specified in the public remarks at the Aug. 12 meeting.

The approval follows prior bond-level authorization; board comments and staff remarks indicated the installation was included in the 2022 bond program and that peer districts already use turf for multiuse fields.

The board meeting transcript shows the turf item was separated from the consent agenda upon request and debated briefly before the vote. No amendment to the motion was recorded.

Votes at a glance: Westview High turf contract authorization — approved 6–1; dissenting vote: Dr. Tammy Carpenter.

Next steps: The district will proceed with the design-phase contract authorization approved by the board. No effective date or contractor name was provided during the meeting discussion.