PMHS Track Replacement Among Proposed Pat-Med Budget Items

According to the Patchogue-Medford School District’s budget newsletter, the Patchogue-Medford High School Track and Field is approaching the end of its useful life.

A replacement of the track and field, which is around 12 years old, is estimated in the newsletter to cost $1.6 million in the proposed 2013-2014 academic budget up for vote Tuesday. The newsletter says that the cost has been included in the interfund transfer to capital component of the proposed budget, and should it be approved the district would plan to work on the track and field in early July and complete the renovation by mid-September. Should the budget be rejected, the track repair is currently listed as being among the first things to be cancelled.

A track’s typical useful life is about 13-15 years, said assistant superintendent of business Donna Jones at the May 9 Board of Education Business meeting at South Ocean Middle School in response to a public comment question about why the track needs to be replaced.

Patch visited the track with the school district’s athletic director Tom Combs to take photos of the track and field to see its current condition, which are in the media gallery above.

Combs pointed out that cracks throughout the track have required 80 feet of repair, and that the track no longer has a springy feel. Throughout the track are noticeable areas where cracks have had to be filled in.

Regarding the field, Combs said that the turf carpet has been worn out, resembling more of a rug than grass. Combs also said that at one point the middle of the turf had been raised, although this has been repaired. He said that while the turf itself is 12 years old, its life expectancy is about eight years.

Combs said that the track and field is the second that was installed on Long Island, and while the district has been happy with it, it is time for a new one.

An official at the Board of Education Budget Hearing on March 4 also at South Ocean said that the track and field is the first to have been installed at a Long Island public school, and the track had been installed just prior to the field. The first installed Long Island track, which is at the Merchant Marine Academy, replaced their track after about 12 years and Stony Brook University replaced their's after six, the official said. Additionally, the warranty on the district’s track lasted about five years.

However, not all residents feel that the track is a need.

Parent Amy Hudson said at the May 9 Board of Education Business meeting that she is disappointed that the track is proposed for repairs instead of reinstating bus transportation to students that lost it after the district’s new bus software found that a number of students had been receiving busing for years despite living too close to the actual schools.

Voting on the 2013-2014 budget is taking place from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday at polling sites which include South Ocean Middle School, Medford Elementary School, Saxton Middle School, Tremont Elementary School and Eagle Elementary School. Results will be announced at Saxton Middle School, 121 Saxton Street in Patchogue, at 9:30 p.m.

What are your thoughts on the possible replacement of the track? Talk about it in the comments section below.