A while back I wrote to the Red Phone asking when GUSD administration was going to open the CHS (padded) track to us runners/taxpayers so we can save our knees. You did your research and we were promised it was going to happen after the signage was completed and after the grand opening of the facility. Both of those things are completed and the track isn’t open to the public. Could you please hold the school district accountable to their promise? As a homeowner who pays property taxes, I will not support their upcoming Bond Measure if I can’t use the tracks at CHS & GHS!
Red Phone:
Red Phone again sympathizes with you, good caller with sore knees. But, you will not like what Red Phone has to report. Yes, it has been longer than a year since Red Phone reported the possibility of opening the CHS track to the public after an evaluation of track usage by GUSD. Red Phone contacted GUSD public information officer Rachel Zlotziver, who explained the situation.
Zlotziver said that GUSD performed the evaluation of the CHS Sports Complex and track usage by students, internal programs, and external community groups that rent the facility governed by the GUSD document, “Use of School Facilities Policies & Procedures.”
Asked about a policy for public track access, Zlotziver said, “While the district does not have a Board Policy specific to track access, we do have a policy for use of school facilities.” Red Phone looked at this lengthy document and found that it did not allow the rental of school facilities by individuals.
While at one time GUSD may have considered opening the track to the public, Zlotziver said, “at this time we have no plans to open up the track or sports complex facilities to individuals or the public at-large for reasons of safety and security. Over the last year there have been several incidents of vandalism at the CHS Sports Complex, including approximately $10,000 in damage to the artificial turf, which occurred in March of last year.” The insurance company is offering a reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction on this vandalism; call anonymously WeTip at 1-800-782-7463.
“Additional acts of vandalism at the complex have cost the district several thousand dollars. Many of the high school’s sports teams also store expensive equipment in the sports complex that would not be protected from vandalism or misuse if the track was open to the public,” Zlotziver said.
Red Phone is neither in favor nor against Measure Bond E, which you mentioned, good caller, but to hold it for ransom seems unfair when you consider what it will provide. Zlotiver said, “Measure E does not propose the building of sports facilities. The priorities for the bond measure are as follows: 1) building a new elementary school to accommodate the students resulting from new housing developments; 2) renovating two aging middle schools (Brownell and South Valley); 3) improving student access to modern technology; and 4) making health, safety and security improvements to district school sites.”
Red Phone hopes, good caller, that you will be able to find another jogging venue kind to your knees!
