New baseball/softball complex on hold


LINCOLN -- Lincoln School District's master facilities plan includes a softball and baseball complex at the high school, but that has been put on hold because the estimated costs have gone up so much, Superintendent Mary Ann Spears told school board members at their Jan. 16 meeting.

"The preconstruction numbers of that have been way above 2 million (dollars)," Spears said. "That's about half a million more than we projected."

The district's construction manager, Phoenix Contractors, said the estimate for concrete alone is about $1 million. The district will not seek bids at this time but will wait to see if costs go down or will continue to build up the building fund for the project, Spears said.

The district is going to spend about $20,000 for upgrades to the softball and baseball fields because Lincoln is hosting the 2023 conference, regional and state softball and baseball tournaments. Spears said she hopes the upgrades will be finished in time for the start of the spring seasons.

Spears opened the meeting by recognizing board members because January is School Board Appreciation Month.

"I want to recognize all of you for your dedication and service to our school district," she said.

She presented Certificate of Boardsmanship pins to board President Kenneth Albright and board member Ronnie Remington for completing 25 hours of professional development.

District staff is still working on a security analysis of all its buildings and when this is complete, the district will set some priorities on improving school security, Spears said.