The overview
The interlocal agreement with District 9 was offered to the district after city officials began to sunset its SPARK program, which allows for public use of green spaces at 14 campuses across NEISD.
District 9 offered a one-time grant of $210,000 for the installation, but the costs of maintenance and repairs would be the responsibility of NEISD.
The discussion
Deborah Caldwell, NEISD chief operations officer, said maintenance would drive up the cost of the turf field.
“[There are] additional costs to consider with ongoing maintenance and the need to buy equipment to help comb and be able to maintain it as well as an annual cleaning and testing costs,” Caldwell said.
Board member Diane Sciba Villarreal worried that people using the field after school hours could damage it, causing maintenance costs to increase.
“My concern is that in the past we’ve had some issues where people would drag barbecue pits onto [the field] and burn the turf,” Villarreal said.
Board Secretary Lisa Thompson noted that the grant was offered in 2023 and may not cover the full cost of installation.
“[The grant] was offered in fiscal year 2022-23 [when] they had this survey, [so] what is the actual cost in 2025,” Thompson said.
What else?
District officials said the estimate was prepared by a vendor who promised to not adjust the price if the district moved forward with the installation.
However, after further discussion, the board noted that the annual maintenance cost would be $10,000, which is an added expense the district does not need.
The board voted 7-0 to decline the interlocal agreement.
