While a proposal to install lighting at Underhill Field was defeated by a 4-4 vote of the Board of Education in July, this week's meeting of the Board made it clear that it's far from a dead issue.

According to the Board's president, Mark Gleason, the vote reflected a reluctance to allocate $100,000 in public funds outside of the normal budgeting cycle during challenging economic times, as opposed to an objection to lighting in and of itself.

The bid obtained for work on the project remains valid until November, so if the CHS Alumni Association were able to raise enough funds to cover the entire $188,000 project cost, the Board could theoretically vote to approve the lighting at its next meeting, Gleason said. Otherwise, the project would have to be re-bid. He also addressed the possibility of the project being included in the 2009-2010 budget.

Although no vote was being taken, a large number of residents attended the meeting to express their support or opposition to the lighting.

"It has enhanced our neighborhood tremendously," said South Orange resident Peggy Ledesma, speaking of last year's renovations to Underhill. She was joined in supporting the lights by a CHS ultimate frisbee player, who spoke of increased school spirit sparked by improved athletics facilities, and a JV field hockey player, who noted that her team often can't complete games, since they sometimes start playing at 5:30 p.m., and it quickly gets dark.

Other Underhill-area residents rehashed their concerns that lighting would cause quality of life in the neighborhood to deteriorate. "Has there been a property values study?" asked South Orange resident Virginia Brown, who noted that parking in the area is a concern now during daytime games and could potentially be more serious at night.

Board member Beth Daugherty, who chairs the facilities committee, tried to reassure residents that revised usage conditions regarding school facilities stipulate that lights must be turned off by 9 p.m. In many cases, for practices scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m., for example, the lights would go off earlier, she said.

She also noted that the district would be sensitive to the concerns of the community when scheduling night-time games. The first night-time football game could be delayed until 2011, she said, "until the daytime dismissal of football games is orderly."