BOC approves conversion of Virgil Middle turf to natural grass and Santi track replacement

The Bond Oversight Committee on Jan. 29 approved a resolution recommending two critical replacement projects: converting the synthetic turf at Virgil Middle School to natural turf and replacing the running track at Santi Education Complex.

District presenter Mr. Cho said the Virgil project would remove the existing synthetic turf and underlying layers, install new soil, drainage, irrigation and regrading and undergo full DSA design review. He described the Virgil scope as replacing roughly the full field and gave a project budget of a little over $4.66 million with a planned completion in the fourth quarter of 2028. For Santi, Mr. Cho said the project will replace the synthetic running track and associated field-event areas with a like-for-like synthetic track, with a budget just over $6.6 million and the same projected completion quarter.

The projects were described as consistent with the board’s Resilient Schools resolution, which disallows permanent synthetic turf at early education centers through middle schools. "Converting the existing field to natural turf is fully consistent with the board's direction and policy," Mr. Cho said. Member Miss Lewis praised the change as part of broader heat-mitigation work: "...making these type of decisions about what we put in our built environment really makes a difference." Mr. McFarland pressed the district on lifecycle and interim-use questions; Mr. Cho said synthetic fields can last 10–20 years depending on use and noted five high-school synthetic-turf projects remain pending a facilities study to be released in the spring.

The committee moved and seconded the resolution. The roll-call vote adopted the item; BOC staff later issued a correction stating that the item passed with 11 affirmative votes. The committee did not change the project budgets or schedules during the meeting.

The committee also discussed material specifics: Mr. Cho said the district uses virgin EPDM rubber combined with polyurethane for track surfacing to avoid lead concerns associated with recycled tire crumb. Mr. Cho said Virgil’s existing synthetic turf is more than 17 years old and the Virgil conversion will require a full design and DSA approval.

The committee’s action sends the recommendation forward per the BOC’s oversight role; next steps described by staff include completing design work and proceeding through DSA review before construction procurement.

The BOC corrected the vote tally for this item later in the meeting to reflect 11 affirmative votes.