The Lawrence school board signed off on moving forward with purchasing turf for baseball fields at both Lawrence High and Free State High at its meeting Monday night.

The presentation of the $2.1 million dollar project that covers buying and installing the turf on both fields came after a court lifted a restraining order on some work at LHS. But District Judge Michael Malone’s action Monday did not stop the civil lawsuit filed by neighbors of LHS.

“The (restraining) order really governs the project at LHS,” said Superintendent Randy Weseman. “With the lawsuit, it’s complicated our efforts and we’re getting late in the year. We’re moving into winter. This whole thing got slowed down.”

Now, he said, the administrators will begin presenting packages like the one on Monday to continue the efforts at both outdoor athletic field sites.

“The only thing standing out there is this litigation,” Weseman said. “What you’ll see now is us coming forward with packages and participating in the approaching litigation.”

The approval for the baseball field turf needed to be done to make sure the fields are ready for the start of the teams’ spring season.