Marion BOE tables baseball funding request a second time
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FAIRMONT - Strike 2.
Proponents asking for funding to help with a baseball turf project at Mary Lou Retton Park whiffed again in front of the Marion County Board of Education this week.
It was the second consecutive time in two meetings board members said no to the $750,000 ask, which would help roll out new playing surfaces for four baseball diamonds at the popular sports facility.
The BOE again voted to table the request, which would include a matching $750,000 outlay by Marion County Parks and Recreation, $500,000 from Fairmont State University - and another $2 million pledged by a private donor.
Fairmont State currently plays its "home" games at Mylan Park in Morgantown, at a cost of $5,000 a season.
"We'd love to have our team back in Marion County," FSU President Mike Davis said.
Right now, Marion County Schools and Fairmont State share a number of facilities - at no cost to both.
Fairmont Senior High School also plays its home games there, along with several Little League teams across the county.
Fairmont State, Marion's BOE contends, would be playing the most - while paying the least.
More pressing infrastructure needs have long been on deck in the district, board member Sam Brunett said.
"Some of our facilities are at stress levels, to be honest," said Brunett, a longtime teacher at Morgantown High School who still lives in his Fairmont hometown.
"Right now, what's before us is $750,000 in a time when public education in West Virginia is combating a lot of different issues."
Meanwhile, the board is asking for more information on the project in general, including ongoing maintenance and other particulars at the park, if the project goes through.
The meeting also marked the first since the state Department of Education assigned a liaison to help with a corrective action plan to help manage administrative management and board member conduct over the academic year.
Susan Collins, the executive director of the West Virginia Association of School Administrators, was appointed to that Marion County role. She attended Monday's meeting.
Collins also formerly served as superintendent of Harrison County Schools.