South Butler School District's Knoch High School stadium is one of the few left in the area with a real grass field.

JEFFERSON TWP — Three South Butler School Board members and the superintendent have spoken out in favor of installing artificial turf at the Knoch High School stadium.

Superintendent David Foley said Kurt Reiser, the district's athletic director, gave a presentation at a recent facilities committee meeting regarding the possibility of putting down an artificial surface.

Foley said the turf would cost about $1.2 million, but noted that the board could put a cap on how much it wants to contribute toward the project. The rest would be raised through community donations and in-kind service donations, such as a local contractor performing the dirt-moving and a local cement plant providing the concrete for the project.

Foley asked board members to inform him at an upcoming meeting whether they want him to approach potential providers of in-kind donations.

Three board members — Bob Goodlin, George Zacherl and Jill McDonald — all said they would be in favor of an artificial turf surface for the field.

Zacherl said if the district wants to attract young families who are moving to the area, the district must “pass the eye test” and appear modern and outfitted with the latest accessories to education.

“I think this is a great first step,” he said.

He added that the district has also built up some savings that could be used to install turf.

Goodlin said he is passionate about installing turf at the stadium, and for more than football and soccer games.

“It's not all about the athletic kids,” Goodlin said. “It's about every single student (who) walks through these doors, who are going to have the opportunity to utilize that surface.”

Goodlin said he is in favor of the school district fully funding the installation of turf and looking for naming contracts and community donations after it is complete.

“We have an opportunity now,” he said. “We have the (teachers) contract behind us and we have some money in our reserves.”

Reiser said physical education classes could be held on a turf field when the regular fields are too wet. He said the marching band and sports teams could practice on the fields without affecting the surface.

He said most districts surrounding South Butler already have artificial turf, and that having an extra feature like turf could increase enrollment by enticing families to settle in the district.

“I think it is a curb appeal thing,” Reiser said.

But board member Matt Cimbala said he has read articles stating that high school soccer goalies who play on a turf field have a higher incidence of cancer.

“There are problems associated with turf fields that we are not looking at,” Cimbala said. “We're just looking at how wonderful it would look to the community.”

He added that he disagrees with building the field now using school district funds and figuring out how to be reimbursed later.

“We're doing this backward,” Cimbala said.

The board is expected to discuss the issue at a future meeting.