First Posted: 9/15/2014

LUMBERTON — The Public Schools of Robeson County’s Board of Education approved the purchase of $259,000 worth of lights for the Fairmont High School football field during a special meeting on Monday.

The project was initially approved during the board’s regular meeting on Wednesday. At that meeting, Finance Officer Erica Setzer was asked to find out if it would be better to fund the project though multi-year financing or pay the entire cost outright.

After receiving quotes with interest rates ranging from 3.95 percent to 4.95 percent, Setzer recommended that the board buy the lights in a single transaction.

“I feel it would be in the best interest if we just purchase straight out and not consider a finance option,” she said.

Randy Ragland, the head football coach at Fairmont High, said the new lights are welcome.

“It’s something we’ve been talking about for a while. I’m not sure when we’re going to be able to get them up,” he said. “Our field is pretty dark and the lights go on and off. Sometimes they pop off in the middle of games. It’s been this way since before I got here.”

Ragland replaced Keith Wood as the Golden Tornadoes’ head coach in 2013 after three years at West Johnson.

According Jason Suggs, the athletics director for the Public Schools of Robeson County, the board began replacing lights at every football field across the district in 2001. Fairmont is the last high school to receive new lights, following Lumberton and South Robeson in 2007.

The football season kicked off Aug. 22.

Fairmont’s next game will be at South View High in Hope Mills on Friday.