Track no longer available while school is in session; other hours restricted
For the first time, the track at Healdsburg High School will now have restricted times for public use and the field will be closed for general use, unless specifically permitted. Additionally, the track and tennis courts will no longer be open for public use during school hours, according to Healdsburg Unified School District Superintendent Chris Vanden Heuvel. The changes to public use were announced prior to the opening of the new track and field (now a synthetic turf with a cork infill) on Nov. 5.
The track will now be open from 6 to 7:45 a.m. and 6:30 to 9 p.m. on weekdays and around 7/8 a.m. to sunset on weekends.
Historically, the track has been open for general use during school hours.
According to Vanden Heuvel, safety concerns and proper field upkeep and use served as the impetus to place a time restriction on community use.
In terms of campus safety, Vanden Heuvel said having an open access field poses a safety threat and also goes against state law, which states that visitors on campus must be signed in by the school.
“Given what happened last year in Parkland this came on the radar. A, it is not the best practice to have un-cleared members of the public on the campus potentially working out right next to P.E. classes and, B, it is not congruent with state law,” Vanden Heuvel said.
The open track issue was then brought to the school board and the board of trustees discussed the issue for three consecutive meetings.
“The school board agreed that it was a safety issue and despite the fact that it has been open historically we thought it might not be the best practice for keeping students safe,” Vanden Heuvel said.
The tighter restrictions will also help ensure the track and field are better maintained and looked after.
“With the new cork infill there are some limitations,” Vanden Heuvel said. For instance, if someone were to wear improper footwear or spill gum or Gatorade then the result could lead to costly repairs. Pets and bike use can also pose maintenance and sanitation issues, as pet excrement or bike debris cannot be simply washed off or left to soak in.
Healdsburg Unified School District’s Operations and Maintenance Supervisor Glen Schaezlein says he likes to think of the field as a gym.
“I think of it as a gym where you follow the same (no food or pets) rule. You wouldn’t eat sunflowers seeds or let animals into the gym,” Schaezlein said. “We want to maintain the field so it can last as long as it can and the less use the longer it can last.”’
Schaezlein says if the facilities are properly used and maintained they can last up to 12 to 14 years.
Vanden Heuvel said of the new hours and limits, “We would like to keep these hours and keep it as open as possible.”
Yet with these new hours, how will little league teams, adult teams and locals be affected?
Glenn Proctor, fundraising vice president for Healdsburg Little League, says the change won’t drastically affect little league. He said the team hasn’t used the HHS facilities on a regular basis, but it would have been nice to have an all weather-surface to use.
“Traditionally, we haven’t used that field, but sometimes we use an all-weather surface,” Proctor said. He also added the team would love to see more baseball field access throughout Healdsburg.
“It is a priority to have a place to work with kids and to have games,” he said.
On the other hand, the O’Sullivan’s, who have been using the HHS track for 20 years, were not happy about the new track use limits when contacted during an evening walk.
“Taxpayers paid a lot of money to upgrade the track and public access has been massively restricted and I understand their concerns about people being out here during school time, but all of the other restrictions on it after school seem like a colossal waste of money,” they said.
During last week’s Healdsburg Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting, a Monte Vista Avenue resident who was an avid user of the track said he would hope the district could consider altering some of the field use times to improve accessibility.
“I would request the board to consider extending the hours so people could have a more reasonable opportunity to use the facility,” he said.
Vanden Heuvel said he would like to keep the field as open as possible, yet factors such as school safety are extremely important to consider as well.
“I know there has been some concern from the community and we all enjoy the small town atmosphere and relative trust we have for each other here, but at the end of the day we lock our doors and we keep our cars locked. There are basic safety measures that we all take and our students deserve more than basic,” Vanden Heuvel said.
