Following a second $50,000 donation, the Curley K-8 School at 493 Centre St. is nearing its $260,000 goal to replace an asphalt lot with an artificial turf field and track for recess use. As of this week, the school had raised $175,000 of its goal.
“We’re getting very close,” campaign parent co-chair Kieran Fitzgibbon told the Gazette. “We’re in the final push.”
Once the fundraising goal is met, Boston Public Schools (BPS) is all set to start the transformation, Fitzgibbon said. If the money is found, BPS will put the project out to bid over the summer, in time to have the track and field ready early in the next school year.
“It’s all lined up that way, all we have to do is raise the money,” he said.
The most recent $50,000 donation was made anonymously through the Boston Foundation.
“The critical thing right now is that we have 55 days to raise $85,000, so we can transform this place,” Fitzgibbon said.
“A playing field means that our students will have a safe environment to learn about and practice physical fitness,” Curley Principal Katie Grassa told the Gazette.
Donations received through Match 1 will be doubled because of a $10,000 matching grant.
The 14,000-square-foot paved area tucked against the school’s south side is “very unsafe,” school parent council member Susan Elsbree previously told the Gazette.
The fund-raising effort kicked off last May with a cleanup event at the school.
The field is the second phase of a 2008 master plan to improve the school grounds. The first phase was completed three years ago and included new green space and an “outdoor classroom” along the north side of the building.
For more information about the plans and the fund-raising, see playingfield.curleyk8.com.