After divided discussion, board approves $20,000 from field-fee account for portable press box

The Regional School District 09 Board of Education approved a motion to allocate $20,000 from a field-fee account toward the purchase of a portable press box for the district’s new turf field and directed the remainder of the purchase price to come from booster fundraising.

Finance & Operations committee members recommended the purchase to improve production and recording capabilities at the new field. Administrators and board members debated whether the fee account (established in 2017 and funded by field rental fees) was the appropriate source given uncertainty about outstanding Nest project costs and the account’s original purpose. Dissenting voices expressed caution about using fees that had been set aside for field maintenance or bond-related costs while the larger stadium and wastewater components of the Nest project remain incompletely priced.

Proponents argued a portable press box would improve equity of experience for teams using Field J — enabling better streaming, announcement and officiating capabilities — and that boosters could provide the remaining funds so the district would not exceed the $20,000 allocation. The motion passed after a recorded division; the transcript captures a board roll of hands with five in favor and multiple opposed. The motion included language that the purchase is subject to bond-counsel concurrence and that the booster/fundraising remainder must be in hand before purchase.