The following is a brief of the story. For the full version, see the Thursday, April 30 print edition of the BDN.

The Boonville School District will have a new track and turf just in time for the 2009-2010 football season. A bid of $987,400 was awarded to ATG Sports during a special board meeting on Thursday evening. The bid was accepted by a 6-1 vote.

Citing safety reasons and lack of revenue – among other things – a community-based track and turf focus group had asked for the board to consider a new athletic complex. In November, the school board passed on bids that came in around $2 million. Earlier this month, the board asked the original bidders to resubmit bids on certain aspects of the project.

“The scope of the project was muddied by extras,” superintendent Dr. Mark Ficken said.

To contact Amber Christian, email amber@boonvilledailynews.com