On Jan. 17, the school board approved for ELA Sports to conduct a survey of the current track facility and former Big Knob Elementary School campus to investigate options for repairing or replacing the track.

According to Superintendent Jeffrey Fuller, conversations on updating the track facility have been underway since he joined FASD in 2012. These conversations continued while conversations about closing the former elementary schools, Big Knob and Conway, began.

“We were looking at all of the space that was available and what was the best use of space. At that point, the board considered moving either the entire stadium or just the track to the center field [between the middle and high schools] but rejected that idea because of the mine subsidence issue that we have had in the past. The conversation about the track has been ongoing since then because of the condition of the track,” Fuller said.

The current track, built in 1992, has layers of stone, asphalt and soft material. According to Ed Shephard, track and field head coach, while the soft material was last replaced about five years ago, the asphalt layer hasn’t been replaced, causing problems with moisture and puddles on the track, causing some practices to be cancelled, and “bubbling” of the track surface.

“Something needs to be done because the track itself is going to get to a point where we can’t practice on it safely,” Shephard said.

According to Fuller, the school board never conducted a full evaluation of the track facility, so this survey will provide the members with specific options for replacement. While the survey approval doesn’t guarantee that the school board will take action on making improvements to the current track or building a new facility entirely, this approval is essential for the school board to analyze data and information to make an informed decision later.

The difference between the two proposed surveys from Dec. 6 and Jan. 10, and the reason why a survey was approved by the school board with a 5-3 vote, is what areas would be covered in the survey. In the first proposal, the district would have paid $10,500, according to Fuller, to do a complete investigate of the entire FASD campus, including the area between the middle and high school buildings that has mines underground. The second proposal included an investigation of the current track facility only, costing the district $5,000.

Ultimately, at the school board meeting on Jan. 17, ELA Sports representative Ernie Graham added a survey of the Big Knob campus to the second proposal for no added cost. The survey of the Big Knob campus, specifically, will determine if placing a regulation-sized track in the district is a viable option. Currently, FASD’s track is 325 meters, and it’s not possible to fit the 400-meter WPIAL requirement in its current location on campus. Starting this season, having a track that is not regulation size will impact WPIAL championship qualifications; now, athletes must run a certain time on a regulation-sized track to qualify.

“It didn’t matter where you ran all year. Now, it does matter,” Shephard said.

As of Jan. 19, this updated contract was being finalized by ELA Sports and is pending solicitor review. According to Fuller, with deliverables being provided within six to eight weeks, more information from the recently-approved survey should be available in two months.