HUNTLEY – Huntley might become the envy of McHenry County football teams by this fall.

District 158 is moving toward installing synthetic artificial turf for its football field, which would make Huntley the first school in the county to have a synthetic turf. Such a surface, which is costly to purchase, would provide numerous advantages regarding usage and be relatively inexpensive to maintain.

Huntley District 158 School Board President Don Drzal said the board hopes to vote on bids for that improvement, along with irrigation systems for the baseball, soccer and softball fields, at its March meeting. The purchase of the FieldTurf and lettering would cost just more than $513,000, not counting installation, drainage or fees, according to a document the school board will discuss to Thursday night’s meeting.