New Albany school board approves $3 million for new soccer field

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- New Albany athletes scored big Monday night after the school board approved $3 million for a new soccer field.

The funding for the new field will come from a referendum that was passed two years ago. It's a major win for soccer programs in New Albany Floyd County Schools.

"Words can't really express how exciting of a day this is," said Shane Stuber, a soccer coach at New Albany High School. "It's a huge step forward."

The new field will replace the old Green Valley Elementary School. After construction at Prosser took away New Albany High School's soccer field, athletes say they've been playing on subpar conditions.

"By midseason, it's torn up," said Justin Spurgeon, a freshman soccer player. "There are holes in the grass. Balls won't roll straight. They'll bounce. It's just not a fun experience."

The school district says it had extra money left over from an $87 million referendum to upgrade schools, passed in 2016. 

We made a decision we did not need all the money originally appropriated for the referendum," Superintendent Dr. Brad Snyder said.

So the board voted to move $3 million into a separate soccer facility fund. 

"The lockers that we have will keep kids from having to change in their cars and in parking lots on the way to practices," said NAHS Athletic Director Don Unruh. "The new concessions are going to be great for the fans."

But some board members are worried that they'll lose the community's trust by moving forward.

"The people that voted on the referendum voted on nine items, nine schools to be fixed," New Albany resident Dale Mann said. "They did not vote on this."

"I'm afraid you're going to lose the trust of the taxpayers who originally voted in favor of the referendum," board member Donna Corbett added. "It didn't win by a landslide. It won barely."

But those in favor say it's not just a one-time win. It's an investment.

"It's not a breach of trust," Snyder said. "This is money that was set aside for the kids."

The board will take a vote on final plans next month, and the new field could be ready by July 2019.

Also at Monday night's meeting, board members discussed how students could soon be screened with metal detectors at school. Watch the video below to see what they had to say:

 Copyright 2018 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.

 

Â