Students and athletes at Bethel Park High School will have a new track and synthetic turf at the high school stadium next year instead of the muddy grass field they now have.

Bethel Park school board unanimously approved plans for the improvements Tuesday while a crowd of about 150 people, including a dozen football players and representatives of the band and other student groups, packed the meeting and loudly applauded the decision. Many wore Bethel Park colors of orange and black.

It wasn't the only big expense of the night. The board approved $4.5 million in projects, including $1.3 million for Northern Athletic to install FieldTurf synthetic turf and a six-lane track, $1.5 million to Tuscano-Maher to install roofs at Independence Middle School and George Washington Elementary School, $48,200 for plumbing to East End Plumbing and Mechanical at Independence Middle School and George Washington Elementary School, $1 million to Phoenix Roofing to re-roof Neil Armstrong Middle School, $31,000 to East End Plumbing and Mechanical to do plumbing work at Neil Armstrong, $516,785 to Phoenix Roofing to re-roof Benjamin Franklin Elementary School and $17,800 to East End Plumbing to install plumbing at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School.

The roofing and plumbing work will be done over the summer.

The stadium improvements will begin in May and be done by the beginning of school, said Peter Szymanski, project architect with L. Robert Kimball Associates, the district's architects.

Board members are researching other projects, including a possible realignment of the schools, some building additions and elimination of portable trailers at several of the elementary schools.

Because the field will be torn up for graduation June 10, the district is exploring other options for commencement, such as the bell circle area, with rented chairs and a stage. The rain location would be the auditorium, as it has been in the past. The rentals would cost about $5,000 but the district usually pays $2,500 to rent extra chairs and items anyway, Bethel Park High School Principal David Helinski said.

The stadium improvement vote was unanimous, but the votes on the roofing and plumbing were split.

Board member Charles Koch voted against the roofing improvements because, he said, the specifications for bidding were not generic enough and that locked some bidders out, which means the district could have paid $500,000 too much for a similar roofing product.

He questioned the rationale of some of the specifications, saying the products might be more than the district needs, likening the purchase to buying a Cadillac.

"We're giving money away for no particular reason," said board member Steve Regan, who voted against the projects.

Several other board members said they were comfortable with the architects' recommendations and voted for the bids.

"I don't believe we're buying a Cadillac," board member Donna Cook said.

Board member David Amaditz agreed. "I don't think we're throwing $500,000 out the window," he said.

When it seemed the discussion was going to continue for a long period, Mr. Amaditz called for a vote and the board voted 7-2 to end the debate. Solicitor Michael Brungo thumbed through Robert's Rules of Order to make sure the board was following proper protocol.