The governing board of any union high school district located in a county of the third class which had an average daily attendance during the 1971–72 school year of between 17,500 and 18,500, and which, during the 1971–72 school year, had a modified assessed valuation per pupil of between twenty-one thousand dollars ($21,000) and twenty-three thousand dollars ($23,000), may cooperate with community nonprofit associations and corporations to carry out the purposes of this chapter including the acquisition, construction, improvement, maintenance, and operation of recreation centers within the territorial limits of and under the control of the governing board, and may enter into agreements with such nonprofit associations and corporations to share the costs of acquiring, constructing, improving, maintaining, and operating such recreation centers located on the property of the school district, provided that the board does not agree to contribute more than one-half the total cost of any one project.