麻花视频

The board voted 4-1 in favor of the project, with board member David Linden being the sole vote against it.

鈥淭his project would provide an all weather, multi-sports artificial playing surface, which will improve the consistency in wet weather playability of the field while easing scheduling conflicts at Bogle Field,鈥� Director of Facilities and Operations Todd Kageals said.

Hidden Valley and Cave Spring are the only two high schools in the county that share one artificial turf field. Both of the high schools, Cave Spring Middle School and the county鈥檚 parks and recreation department use Bogle Stadium, Kageals said during a work session on June 5. There are seven months this year where Bogle is fully booked, and several more months with only a day or two open, he said.

Hidden Valley High School鈥檚 soccer teams, band and potentially lacrosse teams could practice and play games there. The high school鈥檚 football team will still play at Bogle Stadium after the new artificial turf is installed because there is limited bleacher seating at the HVHS field. However, Hidden Valley Middle School鈥檚 football team could potentially play games there, as there is no seating at the middle school鈥檚 field.

During the June 5 work session, Kageals said that while he doesn鈥檛 鈥渘ecessarily agree in terms of what the condition of that field is,鈥� he does see the benefit of both high schools having their own artificial turf field.

Linden expressed some skepticism during the work session, stating that he asked his nephew to rank the grass soccer fields he played on throughout the season and that he said Hidden Valley鈥檚 is the best. As the sole vote against the project during Monday鈥檚 meeting, he said that the field is 鈥減erfectly playable鈥� and that he sees the project as a want rather than a need.

鈥淛ust not sure how it looks for us to, on the budget cuts we had to make this spring, to go spend a million dollars and tear up a perfectly good field where we鈥檝e eliminated 20 positions, we eliminated the health clinic,鈥� he said.

The positions eliminated from the budget were unfilled positions, and the school board decided in February to discontinue its participation with Marathon Health. Linden also mentioned increased insurance costs this year.

鈥淚 know these come from different pots of money 鈥� but I do think there would be a better use of taxpayer dollars than a million dollars on that field,鈥� he said.

Scott Weaver, athletic director at Hidden Valley High School, has worked on the field extensively, board member Cheryl Facciani said. Despite this work, though, the challenges that come with a natural grass field are still there, and maintenance on the field can be expensive, she said.

鈥淲e have other fields that we鈥檝e done in the community, in 麻花视频 County Public Schools, and if you do the math, it actually is cheaper with the maintenance and everything else, to have an artificial field over time with the cost that you鈥檙e putting into that field,鈥� she said.

Hidden Valley is the only high school in the county without a turf field, which board member Tim Greenway said allowed him to justify voting for the project. Chair Shelley Clemons said that the project would also benefit Cave Spring High School, as it would relieve some of the scheduling projects at Bogle Stadium.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 an opportunity that we make everyone whole in the school community, and I can support it from that standpoint,鈥� Greenway said.

During Monday鈥檚 meeting, it was also announced that Christopher Benson, principal of Hidden Valley Middle School, and Kim Smith, principal of Fort Lewis Elementary School, have been named in the inaugural class of candidates in the Virginia Department of Education Principal of Distinction program.

The program was launched by the department in collaboration with the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals and the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals, according to a news release from 麻花视频 County Public Schools. It is designed to recognize school leaders who 鈥渄emonstrate outstanding instructional leadership, positively impact school culture, and foster academic success for all students.鈥�

Benson and Smith are among the 31 principals across the commonwealth in the first class. Candidates are required to have at least five years of experience as a building-level administrator. They also must be endorsed by their division superintendent.

鈥淲e are extremely proud of Dr. Benson and Ms. Smith,鈥� Ken Nicely, 麻花视频 County Public Schools superintendent, said in the release. 鈥淭his recognition is a testament to their dedication, leadership, and unwavering commitment to student success.鈥�

Principals in the program will participate in a professional development symposium this fall and will complete a capstone project. Once completed, participating principals will receive the Level II Principal of Distinction endorsement in administration and supervision preK-12, according to the release.