Manteca Unified trustees will consider three sports related items during tonight’s meeting at 7 p.m. at the district office, 2271 W. Louise Ave.
The items are:
uA decision on whether to proceed with a $3 million plus project for artificial football field turf and an all-weather track  at Weston Ranch High by using the lease-leaseback delivery method and subsequent execution of a site lease sublease, and construction services agreement.
uDiscussing the After School Sports Program Committee’s Proposal for implementation of the Acorn League for elementary level sports during the 2016-17 school years and give specific requirements to proceed with a request for proposals.
uConsider awarding a proposal for the summer pool program.
Also on the agenda is a discussion of the Community Facilities District fees or Mello Roos taxes including the CFD for Weston Ranch that the board is expected to tap to pay for the stadium improvements.
Former MUSD board member Dale Fritchen has questioned the legality of using Mello-Roos funds for stadium upgrades.  Fritchen also contends the district may have improperly spent $20 million on projects funded by certificates of participation being paid for with taxes collected from Weston Ranch homeowners.
Superintendent Jason Messer has said unless staff is told otherwise the project will go forward using Mello-Roos funds.

Acorn League
The school district operated the Acorn League in-house for years until the Great Recession triggered school budget cutbacks. At that time the non-profit Manteca Unified Student Trust was set up  to take over the after sports league.
Last year trustees said they wanted to explore the possibility of bringing the Acorn League back as a district function as well as view other options.
The committee has noted the advantages of the old Acorn League that were important to  schools included how it provided opportunities for students who were not connected to school as well as motivation for students to do well in school. 
They also explored additional programs such as CrossFit, running clubs, and possibility of a fifth period class to provide opportunities for students to learn about other sports such as Ultimate Frisbee. They discussed traditional sports programs that could be offered including, girls/boys volleyball, girls/boys basketball, cross country and track.
The committee also delved into extending the length of the beginning of the season before making cuts so that many more students could participate in practices to increase the number of students participating.

Summer swimming
The  Weston Ranch High summer swim program when it surfaced last year triggered some controversy among board members prompting at least one to say he said would not vote for it again. The program for the Weston Ranch community cost the district $15,000 last year. It was operated by the Stockton Kids Club.