SALEM, N.H. — School officials are trying to figure out how to address several athletic fields that are in "deplorable" condition.
The varsity football field, varsity soccer field and two other soccer fields are in bad shape, and the high school is in jeopardy of not being eligible to host meets if its track is not resurfaced soon, according to Superintendent Mike Delahanty.
School Board members came up with the idea of creating an athletic trust fund and imposing a user fee for recreation leagues that use the fields. The trust fund could be used to fund field repairs and maintenance. Recreation leagues currently use the district's fields for free.
In a meeting between Delahanty and rec league officials last week, league officials expressed their dissatisfaction with that idea, Delahanty said.
"They feel a usage fee would be inappropriate," Delahanty told the School Board on Tuesday. "They feel they do a lot for the fields right now."
In recent years, a softball league raised money for new dugouts at the softball field, and many leagues clean up playing fields at the start of their season, Delahanty said. He suggested a partnership between the rec leagues and the school district, aimed at fundraising and spreading awareness of the poor quality of the fields, could be the best way to work toward new athletic fields.
School Board member Patricia Corbett agreed that a partnership between the rec leagues and the district would be the best way to begin to work toward field improvements.
"A partnership is a good direction to take," she said. "It's a good way to start communication with this board."
Encouraging the recreation leagues to raise funds for field repair, in coordination with the school district, could get things done at a lower cost to the taxpayer, because of the leagues' ability to fund raise and generate donations, Delahanty said.
"They need such dramatic repair," he said of the district's fields. "It's going to require a strong partnership."
Voters could be asked to fund athletic field projects in a future Town Meeting warrant article, Delahanty said.
Board members are receptive to forming a partnership with the leagues, but there is concern that the partnership could affect how repairs are prioritized.
"Let's say the track needed resurfacing and someone wants to donate money to something not as severe," said Patricia Berry, chairwoman of the School Board. "How do we, then, accept money for things not quite as important instead of for the real needs not being addressed?"
Berry suggested a list of needs be presented to the rec leagues the next time they meet to try to get on the same page with the organizations.
That list would likely include projects to improve drainage for two soccer fields, resurfacing the track and a synthetic turf surface for the varsity football field.
The school has not had any of the fields surveyed for cost estimates, but Delahanty estimated the cost of resurfacing the track at between $80,000 and $100,000, and a synthetic turf field at $500,000 to $600,000.
