Jim Thorpe Area School District is moving forward with its artificial turf field project, but not all board members are on board.

At a special meeting Monday night, held online due to coronavirus, a group of board members tried unsuccessfully to delay the project until next year.

The vote came after the board decided that they will pay for the project without borrowing money from a local bank.

Board members Dennis McGinley, Jerry Strubinger and Glenn Confer voted to delay the project.

Raneiro Marciante, Cindy Lesisko-Henning, Paul Montemuro Scott Pompa and TJ Garritano voted against.

McGinley said the project should be delayed until the district finds out how much property tax revenue it will lose next year from the coronavirus impact on businesses and property values. McGinley cited an estimate from the statewide organizations representing teachers and school administrators that local property tax revenue could fall by $1 billion statewide due to coronavirus.

“School districts are taking a $1 billion cut next year,” McGinley said.

The board members who voted against delaying the project said the district must honor the contract it signed earlier this year with Keystone Sports Construction.

“We have a legal obligation here that you’re totally ignoring,” Pompa said.

Lesisko-Henning added that the field will be safer for athletes.

McGinley responded that he believes the field will lead to a property tax increase, and there is still no guarantee that the school’s teams will be allowed to play at all this fall due to the coronavirus.

“You try and tell the taxpayers that next time we have to put taxes up, because we have to spend around $3.5 million for a football field we don’t even know if we’re going to use,” he said.

McGinley proposed delaying the project after board members voted against moving forward with a loan.

They proposed borrowing funds from Jim Thorpe Neighborhood Bank for 144 months at 1.78 percent.

McGinley, Confer, Strubinger and Marciante voted against the loan. Garritano, Lesisko-Henning, Montemuro and Pompa voted for it. Pearl Downs-Sheckler was absent.

Marciante said that if the district borrowed $1.74 million, the original estimated cost of the project, they would pay approximately $160,000 per year in interest.

The cost of the project is expected to increase because the drainage system had to be redesigned. Last month the board discussed adding an all-weather track and electrical work to the project, but they did not make a decision.

The board’s next regular meeting at 7 p.m. May 13.