$1.5M For York Fields, But No Plan Yet

ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst School District 205 earmarked $1.5 million for York High School's athletic fields in its 2018 referendum.

But officials have no plan on how to spend the money.

"It's a bucket of money, and there was nothing really specifically saying this is what we should be doing," Todd Schmidt, the district's facilities director, said Tuesday.

He was speaking at the meeting of the school board's finance committee.

The $1.5 million was part of the $168 million voter-approved referendum. It is in the last phase of construction projects, slated for two years from now.

Schmidt said the district has no details behind the line item, titled "York athletic field improvements."

"It's pretty much open on what we're going to do out there," he said. "The only thing really left is the baseball field."

Board members Athena Arvanitis and Karen Stuefen noted York's softball field, which is at Bryan Middle School. This has been a sore spot for some.

"As long as girls softball is at Bryan, how do we allocate York athletics that are not at York?" Stuefen asked.

Schmidt said the softball field is considered part of York.

"It may be physically at Bryan, but that's part of York's athletic fields," he said.

Arvanitis said she wanted to make sure the district was equitable in its decision on the money. She said that included sports that "maybe aren't thought of all the time."

At a school board meeting last June, a York softball player who had just graduated expressed concerns with the off-campus field. She said the team often feels like it receives the "short end of the stick" with limited time and space.