PORT ANGELES — With the first phase of the Monroe Playfield construction nearly complete, the $1.58 million project is on schedule and on budget, according to Superintendent Marty Brewer.
“It’s progressing nicely and we anticipate having a field to be able to played on or at least walked on Sept. 1,” Brewer told the told the board of the Port Angeles School District on July 27.
“The fencing is starting to go in and the [artificial turf] grain should be going down within the next few days,” he said.
“By the end of August, that should be completed and then Bruch & Bruch will be finishing up the final field in regard to the seating, hydroseeding and the walking track.”
The 6-acre facility on the site of the former Monroe Elementary School at 106 Monroe Road will have a multi-use field for football, soccer and softball; a practice/warm-up area; bleachers; grass viewing areas; and a quarter-mile walking path. Lights, restrooms and a concession stand will be installed at a later date when funding becomes available.
At its meeting, the board voted to approve an extension to the ASB budget for the 2023-2024 school year from $322,000 to $522,000.
Business and Operations Director Kira Acker said because students had been so successful at earning their way to state and national events in 2022-2023, that raising the budget limit was a way to ensure they could continue to do so in the upcoming school year.
“We have to stay within that budget that we’ve agreed to,” Acker said. “This year our kids went to state and it was well over $16,000 for hotels and meal money. ASB pays for all of that. Our middle school students went to Louisville and got to compete in a [technical] skills competition. That in itself was over $43,000.”
There were ASB funds to cover expenses last year, but that was only because there was some capacity in the budget to absorb the unanticipated — but genuinely worthy and valuable — expenses for activities.
“I don’t think we’re going to spend that and there are revenues to support that, too,” Acker said of the $522,000 budget. “It’s not that we’ll be spending money where we don’t have it, it’s just adding extra capacity as we go into the new school year.”
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached at paula.hunt@soundpublishing.com.
