Lawsuit filed to block artificial turf at Cobb schools

A lawsuit is attempting to block Cobb County's plan to spend millions of dollars at 16 public high schools for the installation of artificial turf.

Walter G. Borden, a resident of Cobb County, filed a lawsuit against the Cobb School Board Tuesday in Cobb Superior Court.

Borden's lawsuit claims artificial turf for football fields does not qualify as a capital improvement to an "educational facility" as required by state law.

Cobb citizens approved the SPLOST expenditure September 2008.

The school system has not yet responded to the lawsuit, said Todd Hatcher, an attorney representing the school system.

“We will be doing that within the 30 days deadline,” Hatcher said.

But Thomas D. Harper, Borden's attorney, said he wants a court hearing before the school board votes on the turf project Feb. 25.

“We will have to ask for the hearing to determine whether they can move forward,” Harper told the AJC, “Which we intend to take place sometime before the Feb. 25 vote.”

Cobb school spokesman Jay Dillon said the field improvements will enhance the schools’ abilities to offer more curricular activities as well as curb maintenance costs. He calls the turf enhancements a “quality of life issue.”

Initially, the artificial turf proposal called for $1 million to be spent at each school. However, SPLOST projections are about 20 percent below what was expected, Dillon said.

“But we will still be able to do the fields as planned,” Dillon said.

Under the new plan, proposed Wednesday, each school will receive about $800,000, well above what the installations will cost, Dillon said.