Perkins seeks new turf field

PERKINS TWP. — Eight years after its unveiling, Perkins High School's turf field needs to be replaced. At a recent public meeting, Perkins athletic director Ted Sturzinger told board members the field is falling apart. Rain deteriorates the field's fibers, making it more dangerous for students to use. "It breaks down continuously," he said. The current turf field was part of the $3.4 million stadium renovation project completed in 2012. The turf was supposed to last 10 years. Since it debuted, district sports teams, student activities and others have used the field six to seven days a week. For its next field project, Sturzinger proposed Perkins Schools work with Maumee Bay Turf Center, a company that has installed turf fields at Clyde, Huron, Norwalk and Fremont Ross high schools, among others, and for various universities and NFL teams, like the Cincinnati Bengals. A new turf field with Maumee Bay would cost $406,000, Sturzinger said. Cincinnati-based Motz Group, the company that installed the current field, said their project would cost $419,500. Treasurer Dan Bowman said Perkins Schools can use $147,200 from a special turf replacement fund and about $1.1 million in its permanent improvement fund for the turf project. "The permanent improvement fund is more than capable to pay the balance of $258,822," Bowman said. "This will not jeopardize any of our other capital plans/needs or the reserve we try to always carry of $200,000 to $250,000 for emergencies." A school district's facilities or permanent improvement fund can only be used for repairing buses, maintaining facilities, replacing textbooks and upgrading technology. It cannot be used for salaries and employee benefits. Perkins Schools also wants to replace the stadium's track in a separate project sometime next year. The permanent improvement fund can handle that project, too, Bowman said. The board will take action on the turf replacement project during a special meeting at 5 p.m. Monday. Public participation During the public participation portion of the public meeting, Furry Elementary counselor Diane Smith raised concerns about current COVID-19 procedures after a student in her daughter's class at Meadowlawn Intermediate tested positive for the virus. A district email sent out about the confirmed case, Smith said, suggested families possibly affected to not allow their children to participate in extracurricular activities or family gatherings for 14 days. But, if their family was not contacted by the Erie County Health Department for contact tracing, students are expected to be in class. Smith said her daughter sat near the infected student and always wears a mask during school hours and questioned why board members believed the five-day, in-person learning schedule was best for Perkins students. In August, the board voted 4-1 in favor of in-person learning, against the health board's online-only recommendation, citing parent and staff survey responses and studies showing students learn best in-person. Board member Eric Lapata was the only one to reject the plan. "Remember, us educators are on the frontlines doing everything we can for your child and children in this county," Smith said. "We ask for safety and support. Hopefully, we can get through this as safely as possible." Superintendent Todd Boggs commended district staff for their efforts so far and said officials will look into the email. "We will follow the health department guidelines," he said. "We've done that since day one." At the same meeting, the board approved an agreement with the Perkins Education Association to allow teachers to donate up to two sick days to colleagues affected by COVID-19 through June 30, 2021. Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com and follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood