News Republic editorial: Move now toward track referendum

The high school track is essentially shot. Getting it replaced is a need for both the school and community. But doing so will take a concerted effort from athletes and boosters. And yes, it's going to take a referendum.

So how did this happen? Districts across the state are hurting financially, and Baraboo is no exception. When the current track was built in 1992, the company that installed it had some additional recommendations for its maintenance and care, the district's Activities coordinator Aaron Andres said. But because the budget already was stretched thin, those preventive measures were pushed to the back burner. And the materials used to build the track clung to moisture, which was a problem even after the track was resurfaced in 1999.

It's been nine years since the track has had any substantial work done, patches notwithstanding. And it has deteriorated to the point where school officials consider repairing it a top priority.

No one's been seriously injured while running on it yet, but most of the school's track athletes have been suffered aches and pains as a result of training on it.

"We know it's a safety issue, and we don't want to move our home games to away games," Andres told the News Republic.

The district's interim administrator, Crystal Ritzenthaler, said the work is overdue.

"I would say it's an immediate necessity because there are safety issues with the students in competition," she told the News Republic. "We may not be able to hold future competitive events unless repairs are done. It's not safe for practices, either. When you're holding a competitive event, those safety issues increase."

As recently as 2006, school sports programs were looking at drastic cuts, to the point that as many as nine sports were being considered to be cut completely. School officials were able to find a way to spread cuts out among the sports and raise money by charging higher fees to the athletes and admission to games and events. But at times when entire sports are on the chopping block, there obviously wasn't an extra $200,000 to $300,000 in the budget to cover major repairs to the track.

Then-Athletic Director Dave Hedgepath said in 2006 that the solution administrators and the School Board came up would work — for a while. "It's just temporary. It's a Band-Aid, and unless we pass a referendum, it's going to keep happening."

Hedgepath was right when he said that two years ago, and his words ring true today.

Andres told the News Republic that to get a new layer of asphalt and a new top surface, along with some drainage problems fixed, would run about $215,000.

"That's bare bones; those are the musts," Andres said Thursday. "The other issue is what do you do with the runways and pits on the inside of the track. Those are all below ground level, so anytime it rains, they just fill with water," he said.

For about $350,000, the district could redo the track, move the long jump and pole vault pits to a better spot and install a new drainage system. But Andres said he'd like to see the project undertaken with an eye on the future.

"We also want to build this with the option of building more bleachers in the future. We had 5,000 people for homecoming, and seating for 3,000," Andres said. "Most of our home football nights are around 3,000 people."

To get the kind of facilities our athletes and our community deserve, it's going to take a referendum. Let voters decide what they're willing and able to support, whether it's the bare-bones version for $215,000, a more practical version for $350,000 or a top-flight facility that would allow the district to land WIAA playoff events and invitational meets for considerably more.

District officials have been careful to avoid using the R-word. But without it, you run into two problems: a time crunch and a lack of resources.

High school athletes could host a brat fry or car wash every weekend between now and the start of the next track season and still not come up with the cash they'd need for new facilities. And time is a serious factor: it'd be impossible to get the work done this summer, and Andres said he wouldn't sacrifice the spring season to get work started on the track as soon as the snow and ice disappear in 2009.

Athletes, parents and school officials can use the time between now and next year to lobby hard for the type of facilities Andres envisions. It'll take some convincing. But Andres said he's hopeful that a tangible thing that people can see — and use — might be an easier sell than some of the recent referendums.

We're hoping he's right.