New Curley School field is funded

JP CENTER—Following a successful fundraising campaign to raise $260,000 to replace an asphalt lot with an artificial turf field and track for recess use, the Curley K-8 School at 493 Centre St. is preparing to meet with Boston Public Schools (BPS) to prepare the project for contractor bids.

“We had a remarkable outpouring of support from the community for this project,” campaign parent co-chair Kieran Fitzgibbon told the Gazette. “We would like to acknowledge the incredible generosity of the Curley School Community and our Jamaica Plain neighbors.”

Though the final exact amount is still being counted, Fitzgibbon said, the fund is definitely over the $250,000 mark, enough to cover the cost for the track and field.

“[We’re] still waiting to see whether we have what it’s going to take to cover the cost of trees, benches and track surfacing,” Fitzgibbon said. “Once we meet with them [BPS], we will have a better sense of how much we will be able to include in the package and what we’ll need to leave out.

BPS is expected to put the project out to bid over the summer, in time to have the track and field ready early in the next school year. The meeting with BPS was scheduled for March 13, after the Gazette’s deadline.

The current 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 fundraising 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, see playingfield.curleyk8.com.

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