The Rock Hill Board of Education will pursue more detailed information about constructing a girl’s softball field but will hold off on buying additional bleachers for the high school gym.

Superintendent Lloyd Evans told the board Monday evening that a committee formed two months ago to study the possibility of building such a field would like to build the complex on land behind the system’s severely behaviorally handicapped (SBH) unit.

Jack Walters, of Walters and Associates Architects and Engineers of Dublin, has conducted a preliminary survey and estimates the field could be constructed for $841,000.

“This estimate in some areas, in my opinion, is probably a little high but it is under the $1 million figure expected,” Evans said.

He said the money to pay for such a project could come from the system’s permanent improvement fund.

The vote on whether to seek more information was 4-1, with board member Lavetta Sites casting the dissenting vote.

“I want to see the results of testing this year before we pursue any athletic facility,” Sites said. “As far as my opinion as a board member, education is first.”

Board member Wanda Jenkins also expressed some concern about the idea.

“We have to put education first,” she said. “There are too many kids out here we need to give an education to. That’s my first priority.” In the end she voted for the plan along with Jackie Harris, Paul R. Johnson and Carl Large.

Evans said if the estimates for the project come in higher than what the board would prefer, the project bid does not have to be awarded.

In February, Rock Hill Athletic Director Bob Wilds and girls softball coach Mary Jane Harper approached the board about the need for a girl’s softball field.

Right now, the girls use space squeezed in between little league fields, Harper said, with poor handicapped accessibility, bleachers and other accommodations. At that meeting, a committee was formed to explore the possibility of developing a softball field for the girls.

The board opted to seek more information about additional bleachers for the high school.

Evans said he had discussed purchasing bleachers with one company that declined to give cost estimates other than to say that most of the time, such movable bleachers run approximately $340 per seat.

Retractable handrails are also available but he did not get cost estimates on those either.

“They are hesitant to give us a price for fear that if we got out for bid, they could be undercut,” he said.

“I don’t want to buy a pig in a poke, though,” Jenkins countered.

Evans said discussion about replacing lockers at the middle school was halted by questions about how many lockers are needed and what types of locks should be on them.

In other matters, Rich Donohue asked why he is no longer allowed to announce high school basketball games.

He asked if some board members had exerted pressure on high school administration to discontinue using him given recent controversies in the district. Board members denied using such influence.