File photoWest Lauderdale High School

The Lauderdale County Board of Education voted Thursday night to match funds raised by community members to build a covered hitting facility at West Lauderdale High School, and also to make improvements to the field there.

“This was driven by our coaches and our parents, and we’re trying to improve those facilities for softball,” Shane Rodgers, principal of West Lauderdale High School, told board members. “We have a commitment from our parents there that they’re going to pledge $30,000, and I believe they’ve already gotten over half that together in about a week’s time.”

Rodgers said the project would cover the facility other equipment. He said the project did not seem feasible earlier, but that changed when community members came forward with a pledge of funding.

In a separate matter, Rodgers also noted “real safety concerns with lights” on the field.

“Those poles, I know, on two occasions, with two different storms coming through, have been damaged and have been repaired and patched, but there are real concerns there,” he told the board.

Superintendent Randy Hodges said it appears there are “two needs” in play, and Rodgers agreed. But Rodgers said improvements to those lights would not be addressed by this project.

“We have been in touch with some of our local EMEPA (East Mississippi Electric Power Association) officials to inspect those lights,” Rodgers said after the meeting.

As the discussion proceeded Thursday night, Board President Barbara Jones raised the question of establishing a precedent for matching funds and questioned whether the issue should be tabled until the district’s finance director, George Hedgepeth, could be consulted.

Hodges supported the move to match the funds, and ultimately the board voted unanimously.

“If they’re willing to raise that kind of money, I think we should at least match it,” Hodges said.