AMHERST — A rebuilt and reoriented track, along with an artificial turf playing field for its interior, will be pursued for construction at Amherst Regional High School.
Whether the preferred project supported by the Amherst Regional School Committee, which at $4.74 million is also the most expensive for the district, can get underway sometime in 2023 may depend on the success of community fundraising.
With significant oral and written feedback endorsing the project, including from members of the girls’ soccer team, the committee this week voted 8-1 to pursue the plan that will involve $1.5 million in capital borrowing costs for the four member towns, Amherst, Pelham, Leverett and Shutesbury.
“I am 100% for this,” said Amherst representative Irv Rhodes. “I believe it’s long overdue.”
The plan for putting the track to a north-south orientation and installing a turf field, which would be acted on by the committee in early 2023 should full funding be achieved, calls for the remaining $3.2 million to come from a combination of private donations, grants and other public sources, such as the Community Preservation Act accounts in the towns and federal American Rescue Plan Act money.
The lone vote against the plan was from Leverett representative Gene Stamell, who cautioned that the vote could tie the hands of the committee in only doing the most expensive project, and not pursuing a project that might feature a track with a grass field.
While the cost is a concern, Pelham representative Sarahbess Kenney said any lesser project would be throwing good money after bad. “I am in full support of twisting the track to north-south with a turf field on the inside,” Kenney said.
The committee will have until mid-January 2023 to determine if there is sufficient money for the full-scale plan, at which time design work would take place and a contractor would be sought for the work that can be done with the money in hand.
Superintendent Michael Morris said the committee vote gets the project moving in the right direction, but added that it doesn’t yet resolve the need for a new track to replace the one built in 1999, and a new playing field to replace one that is in poor condition.
Mary G. Klaes, president of the Amherst Hurricane Boosters, told committee members that her organization is ready to assist. “There is a lot of support. The Boosters are willing to help,” Klaes said.
Elizabeth Haygood, who has coached teams at the high school, called the track “an embarrassment,” adding that sports is important in allowing the diverse student body to come together for a common goal.
Zola Higham, a member of the girls soccer team, wrote a letter to the committee on behalf of her teammates, pointing out that meets and events at other schools have spectators, and that Amherst is prohibited from hosting some events.
“This school is in need of a new track and field badly,” Higham wrote. “Countless times my teammates and I have been injured due to the field being in horrible condition. We don’t want the next generation of soccer players to be ashamed of their own field because it is so poorly kept.”
That sentiment of student-athletes lacking pride in the track and field was also expressed by Ruby Cain, the student representative to the committee.
Cain urged the committee not to go halfway with the project, and that morale will be boosted. “It is so, so important that this be done,” Cain said. “I really want future athletes to have a turf field.”
Prior to the vote on the track and field project, the committee unanimously voted to recommend a $32.98 million budget for the regional schools, up $1.07 million, or 3.3%, from this year. The budget makes no cuts to any programs, with assessments of $21.16 million spread among the four towns.
Services will be kept intact at the high school, middle school and Summit Academy, so long as the assessments are approved by the four towns, by Town Meetings in the smaller communities and the Town Council in Amherst.
The plan uses what is called a modified statutory formula to calculate assessments, that takes into account enrollment and ability to pay, with federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER funds, to stabilize these payments.
For, Amherst, a $17.17 million assessment is up $420,175, or 2.5% from this year.
Pelham is getting a $966,706 assessment, up $37,181, or 4%, Leverett is getting a $1.48 million assessment, up $15,744, or 1.1%, and Shutesbury is getting a $1.55 million assessment, down $64,445, or 4%.
Amherst representative Peter Demling said the lack of drama in crafting these assessments is a potentially a “watershed moment” for the years of effort by school and town officials to get to an agreement that doesn’t come with an annual crisis.
“This is a real positive moment for the fiscal health and stability of our district and our member towns,” Demling said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
