South Marion High's New Turf Field: Seven Underground Voids, a $671,917 Fix and an Oct. 29 Target

South Marion High School opened this August as Marion County's newest high school, at 1350 SW 165th Street south of Ocala. Its artificial turf football and track field has spent the fall under repair. School district records show the field sits over underground voids, open spaces in the limestone that can turn into sinkholes if they are not filled, and that the contractor is grouting them now with a target of Oct. 29, 2026.

What the School Board Approved

At its July 28, 2026 meeting, the Marion County School Board approved Compensation Amendment No. 5 to the construction contract for the school (Project 24-105), adding $671,917 for "unforeseen subsurface void investigation, remediation, and site restoration," according to the board's BoardDocs agenda. The motion passed 4-0, with one board member abstaining. The money comes from the district's capital projects fund.

The district's write-up says the voids "were not reasonably identifiable during the original design and construction phases," and that the work is needed "to protect the long-term structural integrity and safe operation of the campus." The amendment also restores contingency money the project had already spent on earlier void repairs during the first construction phase. Because the full extent of the voids could not be known until testing was done, parts of the budget were estimated, and unused money goes back to the project.

Seven Voids, Six Under the Field

The construction manager, Wharton-Smith, laid out the plan in the scope attached to the amendment:

• Geo-Tech, Inc. identified seven subsurface void locations. Six are inside the artificial sports field; one is south of the athletic facilities.


• Crews remove sections of the artificial turf, base and underground drainage at each spot so Geo-Tech can run Standard Penetration Tests.


• The voids are filled with flowable grout placed to about one foot below the field's drainage system, the same method used for earlier repairs on the site.


• The excavations are backfilled, the drainage rebuilt and the turf restored. The running track and the rest of the field are protected during the work.

AI-generated illustration of turf being lifted for void grouting. Not a photo of South Marion High School.

The Timeline

Work began on July 29, 2026. Wharton-Smith's schedule calls for substantial completion by Oct. 29, 2026, and the overall construction contract runs to final completion on or before Jan. 27, 2027. The void work brings the school's total construction contract to $165,217,945.

The field cannot host events while sections of turf are pulled up. The school board's agenda records from August through early October contain no further change to the Oct. 29 date. We will update this article when the district reports the field is back in use.

About South Marion High School

The school opened to students in August 2026. Its campus includes a 2,000-seat stadium for football and track. The school's cross country team ran its first meet as a program this fall; see our Whispering Pines Invitational results. For other schools, see our guide to Ocala schools and the district's recent school grades.

Sources: Marion County School Board agenda item D20.5 and motion record (July 28, 2026); Wharton-Smith GMP-5 Subsurface Void Remediation scope attached to that item; School Board agendas Aug. 6-Oct. 8, 2026; Marion County Public Schools' South Marion High School construction page. Checked Oct. 3, 2026.