ELMHURST, IL – The Elmhurst School District 205 board on Tuesday voted to spend $259,000 on a new scoreboard, with officials defending the cost beforehand.
The 15-by-25-foot video board is for York High School’s football field.
At a board meeting, member Jim Collins said the district received messages from residents concerned about the cost.
Find out what's happening in Elmhurstwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“It is substantial,” Collins said. “While the cost of the project is high, many other high schools have scoreboards of this caliber.”
He also said the scoreboard will allow the district to sell advertising. Other schools have generated enough advertising income to pay for their boards, he said.
Find out what's happening in Elmhurstwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“We intend to do something very similar,” Collins said. “I wanted to point that out to the people who contacted us.”
Todd Schmidt, the district’s facilities director, said the cost consists of far more than the board itself. It includes, he said, removal of the existing scoreboard and steel beam structure, excavation to put in more footings, installation of new steel beams, installation of electrical wiring in conduits and shipping.
The scoreboard project’s cost is a little below the median value of a house in the United States, which the U.S. Census says amounts to $281,900. The board’s cost is more than half of Elmhurst’s median value of $516,900.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
Click Here: new zealand rugby team jerseys