Anticipated property tax losses associated with a new state law factored into Southwest Allen County Schools' decision Tuesday to spend $1.2 million on a synthetic turf field instead of $800,000 on the natural grass option.

The school board's approval came about two months after hiring Context Design as the architecture firm for the Summit Middle School track and field project.

Officials planned to pause the design process at 35% completion to give the district updated pricing and an operational cost analysis for grass and synthetic turf options.

The existing field has surface deterioration and drainage concerns that have increasingly limited its use.

Summit's projected fall enrollment was about 750 students.

"The most impactful difference between natural grass and synthetic turf is j

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