Medina schools approve $758,774 for baseball and softball field upgrades

State funding and donations will support turf infields, while the district will pay for new safety backstops and netting

The Medina City Schools Board of Education approved $758,774 in improvements to the high school's baseball and softball facilities during its Oct. 20 meeting, advancing a project that combines state grant funding, community donations and district-funded safety upgrades.

The board unanimously approved a $589,159 contract with Vasco to install artificial turf infields at both facilities, along with $169,615 for new backstops and netting designed to prevent foul balls from reaching neighboring athletic fields and spectators.

The turf improvements are supported by a $400,000 state capital improvement grant and $200,000 in community donations. The district will fund the backstop replacements separately.

Ryan O'Cull, the district's director of business affairs, outlined the project, which is expected to begin this winter. The state grant requires the work to be completed by June 2028.

“This is very special for me because I started as business manager, and this is one of the first meetings I had with parents of baseball players that said this has to be done,” O’Cull said. “And here we are five years later.”

The grant is reimbursement-based, meaning the district must pay for the improvements before receiving the state funding. The money was secured through an application involving state Rep. Sharon Ray and state Sen. Mark Romanchuk.

The project follows several years of planning and fundraising involving the school district, Medina Youth Baseball Association, athletic boosters, families and local businesses.

Plans include removable bases to accommodate youth baseball. School teams will retain scheduling priority, with youth baseball and softball programs able to use the facilities when available.

The proposed 30-foot backstops and netting address a longstanding safety concern involving foul balls traveling into the nearby football stadium, where lacrosse, rugby and other activities take place. Softballs also have reached the adjacent baseball field during simultaneous games.

O'Cull said the district currently spends approximately $30,000 to $35,000 annually maintaining the two dirt infields. He proposed setting aside some of the anticipated maintenance savings to help pay for eventual turf replacement, potentially in about 15 years.

The board also heard an update from Superintendent Aaron Sable on plans to reconfigure the district's upper elementary and middle school programs at A.I. Root and Claggett middle schools.

A committee of parents and staff met earlier in October to review preliminary scheduling models. Proposals include a two-teacher approach for fifth grade at Root and a sixth-grade structure in which students rotate among four core teachers. Claggett would retain a middle school teaming model similar to its current arrangement.

Sable emphasized that the proposals remain under development and that employee and parent feedback will be considered. Additional information, including financial implications, is expected at the committee's next meeting in early December.

The reconfiguration is partly driven by declining enrollment. Sable said the district has lost approximately 1,200 to 1,400 students in less than a decade, requiring adjustments to staffing and operations while attempting to preserve educational programming.

The board also reviewed the district's latest Ohio school report card, which awarded Medina City Schools an overall rating of four stars. The district received five stars in gap closing and graduation, four in achievement and three each in progress, early literacy and college, career, workforce and military readiness.

Board members questioned a decline in the district's student growth rating. District officials said additional state data would help identify areas requiring improvement.

Treasurer David Chambers reported approximately $37 million in revenue and $24 million in expenditures through September. Real property tax collections were 6.2% below the same period last year, and the district was awaiting a tax settlement from the Medina County auditor's office.

Board member Vicki Druley also announced plans to circulate a proposed resolution supporting the national 40 by 2040 initiative, which calls for increased federal special education funding. She hopes the board will consider the proposal in November.