OCALA, FL (352today.com) – A school district athletic update was provided at the Marion County Public School Board work session on Thursday, March 5, 2026.
Last winter, the Marion County Public School District athletic department received about $2 million for a number of projects. MCPS School District Athletic Director Donnie Tucker gave an update before the school board at Thursday’s work session.
“The plan that we proposed last year included new bleachers at baseball and softball fields, storage buildings at each campus, resurfacing tennis and pickleball courts at existing sites, adding courts to schools that don’t currently have tennis or pickleball courts on their campuses. New scoreboards and shot clocks for all high school gymnasiums and a rubberized track at West Port High School.
“Currently the shot clocks and scoreboards are being installed,” said Tucker, with installation at Belleview High School and Lake Weir High School having been completed.
The tennis courts, storage and bleachers all involve some form of concrete, said Tucker.
“Part of the problem was the amount of concrete we had to use on the current bid wasn’t going to be enough,” said Tucker. “There was a bid put out, no one really put in on the bid, so the bid was rejected, and it was rejected by the board I believe at the last school board meeting in February. Since then, I know Mr. Duncan has been working on an agreement, and as soon as that agreement is in with legal, and as soon it gets approved, we can move forward with more concrete and finish the rest of these projects.”
The bleachers have been ordered and are sitting at the warehouse and the school district is waiting for concrete pads, said Tucker.
“We can put the bleachers together and install them, and move forward with that project,” said Tucker. “The storage buildings have been designed, and the only reason they haven’t been ordered is because we have to pour the concrete pads. We have to have a significant amount of time cure, it’s at least a two-week minimum, and for all those things to happen, I didn’t want this company to sit and have to hold our storage building, so all of that stuff is in place, and we’re ready to go with those things as well.”
The $2 million was used to purchase the bleachers, shot clocks and scoreboards, and to date the school district has spent $471,018. 26, said Tucker. The budgets and purchases that the athletic department had in the first proposal had $866,000 left, leaving the department with $662,981.74, with the majority of that money being earmarked toward the rubberized track project at West Port.
“I know we had some conversations individually, so the proposal for the remaining funds would be as you see in the presentation,” said Tucker. “Continuing with the West Port High School project, I’ve had some meetings with different companies that install tracks, and the thing that kept coming up was, if you’re going to consider doing anything from the inside of that track, any time in the future, it’s better to go from the inside out.”
The ask that Tucker made to the board was to use some of next year’s money to add artificial turf in addition to the rubberized track at West Port High School, and that would leave the department with $800,000 for the rest of the schools. The cost for the artificial turf and rubberized track would be approximately $1.8 million; however, this would be contingent on whether or not the department would be allocated another $2 million for next year.
“Some of the projects that these guys have come up with already at the remaining schools, we have schools that need beach volleyball courts, we have schools that need locker rooms for their outdoor facilities,” said Tucker. “We have some schools that need scoreboards for their outdoor facilities. There are several things that we can use the remaining money for, if that’s what this board chooses to do in the direction for next year as far as West Port High School is concerned.”
MCPS Board Chair Dr. Sarah James wanted to clarify that the funds for athletics aren’t coming from the half-cent sales tax directly, as the sales tax wasn’t approved to pay for athletics. The use of the sales tax to fund other projects has allowed the mill to be used to fund athletics.
“But absolutely, because of the sales tax funding and helping with other capital projects, that’s allowed us to prioritize athletics for the first time in a very long time,” said James.
