Education

Marion BOE tosses flag — again — on turf proposal

FAIRMONT - From 1938 through the late 1970s, the Friday night lights couldn't have glowed brighter across Fairmont and Marion County.

The county then boasted seven high schools, and all occasionally played their "home" games at East-West Stadium.

East-West is the masonry marvel on 12th Street that went up 88 years ago as part of President Franklin Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration.

The old Barrackville High hosted all of its football visitors there, in fact, as it didn't have a field to call its own.

As Marion's school district diversified its sports offerings, East-West evolved.

These days, the stadium, with suitably marked turf - artificial - hosts soccer and lacrosse in addition to the gridiron staple that rules these climes come fall.

However, as Marion County Board of Education member Sam Brunett observed, the storied stadium continues to show its age.

"Two weeks ago, I went to East-West Stadium and a quarter of that stadium had caution tape around it," he said during Tuesday's BOE meeting.

"A quarter of our existing property that belongs to us had been shut down."

Brunett used that image to make a point, he said. The district, he said, has property it owns and is in disrepair.

The district, he said, doesn't need to allocate its dollars to properties it doesn't own.

He's referring to a plan to resurface baseball diamonds at Mary Lou Retton Park, where Fairmont Senior High, Fairmont State University and several Little League teams play their games during the season.

Under that proposal, Marion County Parks and Recreation, which does own and maintain the park on the city's west side, would kick in $750,000 for the work.

Fairmont State would pony up $500,000. Another private donor has already pledged $2 million.

And Marion County Schools, after balking at an original $750,000 ask, would also pay $500,000 for the new turf in the plan.

Tuesday night, however, was more of the same for the Marion County Regional Development Corp., the entity that would manage the project.

Again, corporation president Nick Fantasia was on deck for the proposal, and again, he was fanned at the plate.

"If you can give us a conclusion, whether positive or negative, that'll allow us to move forward on the project and know what the constituents are gonna look like," Fantasia said.

The BOE's 2-2-1 vote iced it, as far as the local district being in the lineup goes.

At least for now.

Brunett and Donna Costello, both cast nay votes, and Kevin Rogers abstained.

Pastor James Saunders, the BOE's current president and a longtime incumbent who has served more than 30 years on the board, said yes to the proposal.

So did Tom Dragich, a teacher, coach and principal in the district who logged two decades at Fairmont Senior.

When properly managed, Dragich said, sports programs can build character while augmenting academic performance.

School districts with properly maintained fields and facilities, mean that every student has a shot to shine, the retired educator added.

"I've probably got a different perspective," he said.

Teams that achieve on fields of play that are less than stellar might have a grit that other rosters don't possess, Dragich said.

"What Fairmont Senior has accomplished through the years with a lack of a facility is amazing."

If nothing else, Dragich said, the district is going to have to revisit the state of its sports facilities through a bond call - given the most recent vote.