Marion School Board to Vote Oct. 27 on Nine Tennis Courts, LED Field Lights and a New Name for Fordham

The Marion County School Board is scheduled to vote on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, on nine new tennis courts at three high schools, LED lighting for baseball and softball fields across the district, and a new name for Fordham Early Learning Academy. The items are on the board's published BoardDocs agenda for its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. at 1614 E Fort King Street, Ocala, FL 34471. None of them has been approved yet.

Digitally generated illustration. Not a photo of a Marion County school tennis court.

At a Glance

• Meeting: Marion County School Board regular meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, 5:30 p.m., 1614 E Fort King Street, Ocala


• Tennis courts (D19.6): up to $820,000 for nine new courts, three each at Forest, North Marion and Vanguard high schools; estimated cost $803,680


• Field lighting (D19.5): about $3,000,000 over the contract term to replace metal halide and metal sulfide lights with LED on baseball and softball fields


• Fordham (C12.1): rename Fordham Early Learning Academy to Fordham Academy


• Playgrounds (C14.3): about $400,000 a year for playground equipment


• South Marion High (D19.2): $11,842,992 to finish the third floor of Building 1

Which High Schools Would Get New Tennis Courts?

Item D19.6 asks the board to use Omnia Partners Contract 08-42 for Athletic Surfacing and Asphalt Maintenance to buy and install nine new tennis courts. Forest High, North Marion High and Vanguard High would each get three. The vendor is The Nidy Sports Construction Company, LLC, of Longwood. The item puts the estimated cost at $803,680 and asks for approval of $820,000 in case unexpected site issues come up during construction. The money is budgeted in the Capital Projects Fund.

The Nidy proposals attached to the item, dated Oct. 5, 2026, price the three-court sets at $291,600 at Forest, $245,680 at North Marion and $266,400 at Vanguard. Each proposal covers asphalt courts with an acrylic color coating, nets and posts, and 10-foot black perimeter fencing. All three list court lighting, permits and site prep among the exclusions.

What Is Changing on Baseball and Softball Fields?

Item D19.5 would use Sourcewell Contract 041123-MSL with Musco Sports Lighting, LLC, of Oskaloosa, Iowa, to update stadium lighting on baseball and softball fields throughout the district. According to the agenda, the work would replace obsolete metal halide and metal sulfide bulbs with energy-efficient LED lamps, increasing lighting capability while reducing maintenance needs and repair incidents. The district estimates about $3,000,000 for the contract term, which runs to June 16, 2027. The item says no money had been committed under the contract when it was put on the agenda, and it does not list which fields would be done first.

Why Is Fordham Early Learning Academy Being Renamed?

Consent item C12.1 would rename the school Fordham Academy. According to the agenda, the process involved a naming committee of community members, parents and educators, and public surveys were advertised Oct. 14, 2026, on the district and school websites. The presentation for the board's Oct. 22 work session (9 a.m., same address) shows the first survey collected 44 suggested names. The committee picked three finalists for a second survey: Fordham Academy, Fordham Early Learning and Leadership Academy and The Academies at Fordham. The presentation's results slides show 257 and 256 total responses to that survey. Fordham Academy ranked first in the survey and is the committee's recommendation. The agenda says the name will "foster community pride, support, and public identity" and lists no cost.

Playground Equipment and South Marion High

Consent item C14.3 would use Sourcewell Contract 101625-BUR with BCI Burke Company, LLC, of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to buy discounted playground equipment for schools as needed. The district estimates about $400,000 a year under a contract that runs through Dec. 17, 2029. The consent items fall under one "Approval of Consent Agenda" action on the agenda.

Item D19.2 sets a guaranteed maximum price of $11,842,992 to finish the third floor of Building 1 at South Marion High School. The school was built with that floor left as unfinished shell space. The work adds classroom space, including chemistry labs. With this fifth phase, the construction contract would total $177,060,937, according to the item, which targets substantial completion by July 16, 2027.

How to Attend or Comment

The agenda includes time for the public to address the board, both on agenda items and on other topics. Anyone who needs disability accommodations should contact board secretary Anne Chiulli at 352-671-7707 at least 72 hours before the meeting, according to the meeting notice.

More on Marion County Schools

At South Marion High, the board earlier approved $671,917 to repair underground voids under the new turf field. Earlier this month the board took up 22 new school buses. School profiles for Forest High, North Marion High and Vanguard High are in our Marion County schools directory.

Sources: Marion County School Board BoardDocs, Oct. 27, 2026, School Board Meeting notice and agenda, including items C12.1, C14.3, D19.2, D19.5 and D19.6 and the Nidy Sports Construction proposals attached to D19.6; Oct. 22, 2026, Administrative Briefing and Work Session notice, agenda and presentation "Renaming of Fordham Early Learning Academy." Checked Oct. 21, 2026.