Artificial turf has genuine potential for Glenbard schools

The school board in Glenbard High School District 87 is continuing to explore the use of artificial turf at two of its four high schools, but members cautioned Monday they're far from a decision to install it.

They've already agreed to explore potential partnerships to pay for work at Glenbard North High School in Carol Stream.

Now they're debating whether to move forward with looking at turf at Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn. A group of parents at Glenbard West initiated the districtwide discussion by doing substantial groundwork for the idea.

The Glenbard North plan, however, is slightly further along because officials from the Carol Stream Park District said they were interested in helping pay for the work as long as they, too, could access the stadium.

Board members were presented with two requests to approve topographical studies at Glenbard North on Monday, but they approved only one because it was not directly tied to installing the turf - a multimillion-dollar proposal.

They told administrators to first solidify the potential partnerships for the entire project, including what percentage each would pay, and they'll approve the second study, as well.

"We know there's interest in the Carol Stream area - but we haven't seen what the agreement is to move forward," board member Kathleen Schmidt said.

"We're really just exploring the concept of the turf fields and the ability to put that into place and how it would be financed," she continued. "We're not making decisions to install fields."

The board also asked that a resolution similar to the one they approved for Glenbard North be presented to them relating to a proposal for turf at Glenbard West.

Though the district already has drawn up financial implications for both schools, as well as the entire district, board members said they formally need to agree to even study the plan first.

That resolution is expected next month.