A proposal to help pay for construction of a new Reynolds High School football stadium on the edge of Hanes Park was voted down during a school board meeting on Thursday.
It would have provided a total of $3 million from the district's savings to fund both the Reynolds stadium and improvements at Parkland High School's athletic facility.
Instead, the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education approved a motion that directs Superintendent Tricia McManus and staff to look at other ways to fund the project and address the needs of schools that lack on-campus stadiums. Parkland High School and Winston-Salem Prep also don't have stadiums directly on campus.
McManus says she's committed to having facilities that meet the needs of all students.
“There could be other funds that we don't even know about right now until we can dig in. We have found $500,000 right now is savings and construction, so the money that should be used for the stadium should come from capital outlay dollars, dollars that are meant for these kinds of projects.”
Reynolds High School currently shares a football field with Parkland off of Clemmonsville Road, several miles away from campus.
Some students and parents say it creates hardships for students who lack transportation and leads to lost instruction time during game days. But others want to see the money spent for other infrastructure improvements like playgrounds and repairs at schools.
Community members in the Hanes Park area have also voiced concerns over additional traffic and noise.
The district estimates a new athletic stadium for Reynolds High School will cost around $6 million. A local group started a fundraising campaign to also raise funds for the project.
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