Vashon’s school board will bring in an expert to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of grass and artificial turf fields tomorrow, Thursday, and the public is urged to attend.

Vashon Island School District Superintendent Michael Soltman said in an email to school families that Dave Anderson, principal engineer of the Seattle engineering and landscape architecture firm D.A. Hogan & Associates, will give a presentation about natural turf and synthetic turf applications and options for athletic fields. The firm’s projects include the synthetic turf field at CenturyLink Field that the Seahawks and Sounders use, as well as tracks and fields for dozens of high schools and colleges nationwide.

The board is in the information gathering phase of planning for a second attempt at passing a bond for maintenance projects and facility improvements after the first attempt ($26.9 million) failed in February.

That attempt included $4.9 million to be earmarked for a new track and synthetic turf field at Vashon High School (VHS). The current dirt track floods in wet months and does not meet state standards for meets. Opponents of the bond at the time believed that there were cheaper alternatives to the proposed synthetic field and cited recent studies on the health risks that come with synthetic turf.

School board meetings are always open to the public, and Soltman said that the presentation is the first of many anticipated public meetings to discuss options and priorities for a school bond. Future meetings are expected to happen between September and November this year.

Anderson is also scheduled to speak at one of those meetings in September.

The board on Thursday will also discuss the VHS bleachers, the McMurray Middle School gym, the VHS gym roof, VHS Buildings K and F and the district’s bus barn.