Okaloosa School Board approves $5.1 Million turf project for four high schools

In Brief:

🏈 $5.1 million approved for synthetic turf at four schools
🌱 Fields replaced due to safety, drainage, and overuse
💰 Funded through construction savings, not sales tax

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NICEVILLE — The Okaloosa County School Board unanimously approved a $5.1 million plan Monday to replace natural grass with artificial turf at four high school football fields, citing safety, heavy use, and maintenance challenges as key factors.

The 5-0 vote authorizes synthetic turf installations at Choctawhatchee High, Niceville High, Crestview High, and Baker School. The total project cost is $5,072,237, with an additional $51,925 allocated for engineering services.

The installation costs per school are: Choctawhatchee High, $1,342,968; Niceville High, $1,124,709; Crestview High, $1,306,612; and Baker School, $1,297,948.

Engineering costs vary, with Niceville‘s $6,600 fee reduced through cooperation with the city on stormwater drainage, as a collection pond is located directly south of Eagle Stadium.

District leaders said the project will be funded through savings from earlier construction bids, not sales tax revenue.

At a workshop held earlier in the day, Assistant Superintendent Grant Meyer said the move comes as natural fields have struggled to recover from year-round use across multiple sports and events.

“When you’re trying to maintain them in dormant seasons, and it’s being used constantly for different events and other sports, it’s hard for a field to grow and come back from damage,” Meyer said. “That’s the biggest thing, the usage of our fields.”

Meyer noted that the district’s fields now accommodate football, soccer, lacrosse, girls’ flag football, and marching band practices. He added that more than 20 other Florida schools are installing artificial turf fields this year.

Furthermore, Meyer said the synthetic fields will provide safer, more consistent surfaces for football, soccer, lacrosse, flag football, marching band, ROTC, and community events year-round.

Niceville High School Principal Charlie Marello, also speaking at Monday’s workshop, described repeated safety issues with the school’s grass field, including holes and uneven surfaces that forced officials to delay games.

Drainage problems have also plagued the field, which sits over a creek bed in the North end zone. Marello said heavy rain before last season’s home opener left the surface too damaged to host a middle school game. Similar conditions two weeks later created ruts and mud several inches deep.

“The next morning, I go out there and I take a picture of what the field looks like at Niceville High School,” Marello said. “It’s four to six-inch ruts everywhere. It’s divots, it’s mud, it’s muck.”

Board Member Tim Bryant raised concerns about future replacement costs, recalling a prior turf resurfacing at Fort Walton Beach High School.

“In 10 to 12 years, none of us are gonna be sitting on this board,” Bryant said. “And I don’t want to put us in a position where these have to be replaced and there’s no money there.”

Bryant also noted that new artificial fields could be used by local 8th-grade teams, such as Shoal River Middle School, who have been unable to use their field this year due to field conditions.

Superintendent Marcus Chambers said the district will budget annual contributions for future turf replacements, typically required after a decade of use.

Board Member Brett Hinely emphasized that the funding came from cost savings on other projects.

“This was not originally part of the budget,” Hinely said. “After we got our bids and validated, everything came way under, and this was available for us to do this.”

Chambers said the savings enabled the district to complete all four fields simultaneously rather than phasing them in over 5 years. Fort Walton Beach High School, which installed turf in 2004 and replaced it in 2017, will also fall under the district’s new maintenance plan.

Board Chair Lamar White said middle school upgrades could be considered in the future.