Board member Gary Wray said, “The turf field is the last add-alternate, and we knew from the start that if there was money left in the project, we were going to do it, and if there was not money left in the project, we were not going to do it.”

Wray said the board did not communicate well with teachers over completion of punch-list items. “We thought we set up a process that was transparent enough and thought that communication was open. We found out that it wasn’t.” He said that prompted the board to set up new methods of communication so teachers could inform district officials of problems they were having in classrooms so builders could fix them promptly.

Wray said the district fell off a bit on quality control, but he said the issues appear to have been corrected. Poor communication led some to fear that problems would not be fixed if a field were built, but that will not be the case, said Wray.

Board member Andy Lewis said he worried teacher concerns had not been addressed, but said he is much more comfortable with the process now that district office staff have verified enough money is allocated for punch-list fixes.

He said that construction of the turf field is the appropriate use for more than $800,000 in contingency funds because the field was part of the original bid. He said that some people were calling for the money to go toward academic programs, but state law does not allow construction funds to be spent that way. Department of Education spokesman Ron Gough has said that construction funds must go toward building new physical items for schools.

School board President Camilla Conlon said the board has diligently worked to address concerns and questions about staff problems being addressed. Teachers had complained that items, such as projectors, had not been installed properly.

Board members who visited the school said some projectors were hanging from the ceiling by wires, but they said those problems have been addressed by contractors. The field was part of the original construction project, said Conlon, unlike the $7 million swimming pool, which was rejected in the referendum to build the high school.

She said if the board agrees, the field will be built; if not, she said it is unclear how much of the money can be used in the project. Any unused money must be returned to the state, said Conlon. She said, “We feel very confident we can build this field and have a little money set aside for the final ribbon-cutting and any other adjustments that need to be made.” The board meets at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 18, at Beacon Middle School.