The following article is
reprinted from The Saugerties Times,
11-12-07 AFTERSHOCKS [With coaches
still angry over track, school board members promise to be
more communicative] By: Crispin Kott:, Saugerties Times , October 11,
2007 Though it’s been nearly a month since the school
board voted to continue work on a six-lane track and
athletic field at the Jr./Sr. High School campus, ripples
from one of the most controversial portions of the
district’s facilities improvement plan continue to be
felt today. The Saugerties Board of Education’s regular monthly
meeting provided coaches John Lombardo and Bob Slate with
the opportunity to air their opinions on a track and
athletic field they say would have been built differently
had their input been considered by school officials and the
architectural firm hired to oversee the planning of the
project. “At last month’s special board meeting, coaches
(Ted) Suttmeier, Slate and myself, all highly qualified
coaches, along with the ASBA (American Sports Builders
Association) manual, were literally thrown under the bus by
our central administration and a panel of so-called
experts,” Lombardo said. “A true disgrace when you
consider over 75 years of dedicated service to this school
district.” The coaches maintained that had they been listened to two
years ago when the track was still in the planning stages,
the need for an eight-lane track that would fit an athletic
field large enough to hold soccer and lacrosse games within
its circumference instead of the six-lane track encircling
the football field currently under construction could have
been addressed much earlier when construction schedules were
more flexible. Lombardo referenced letters supporting the larger track
design he received from Peter “Duffy” Mahoney,
director of high performance with USA Track & Field and
Carol T. Hogan, executive vice president of ASBA. Slate added that his suggestion that the new scoreboard
be placed on the opposite side of the athletic field from
its original spot was also ignored, thus depriving event
attendees from knowing the score of the game as they
approached the field from the parking lot. Despite efforts by supporters of the larger track design
to enact the change during the construction phase last
month, the school board voted to continue building the
six-lane track, saying the financial cost of not continuing
was too great a burden for the community to bear. Even so,
some members of the board said the track issue could prove
instructive. “I just hope we can learn from this
experience,” Trustee James Steinhilber said in
September. “We need more interaction and we need it at
every phase. We can prevent this from happening in the
future.” On Tuesday, school board vice president George Heidcamp
said the efforts of Lombardo, Slate and Suttmeier were not
in vain. “Your personal sacrifices have not gone
unnoticed,” Heidcamp said. “Your voices have been
heard loud and clear. We can and will do a better job in the
future.” Superintendent Richard Rhau didn’t comment on the
track configuration, but he did offer an update the progress
of the athletic field during a general construction
presentation. With winter just around the corner, Rhau said
construction teams were working diligently to ensure all
work that can be completed while the weather is still
agreeable is finished. In addition to a second layer of
macadam being laid down on the track and the installation of
sod on the athletic field, roofing work throughout the
district was nearly complete, with the edges still being
tied down. According to Rhau, the science and music additions at the
high school are progressing as expected, and crews are still
hoping to be able to complete work on areas of the new media
center in time to seal off the area during the cold winter.
While the summer and early fall have been marked by
agreeable weather, Rhau said even the recent rain has helped
with the sod on the athletic field. “We’ve been really fortunate with the
weather,” Rhau said. With President Donald Tucker absent, the school board
on Tuesday voted unanimously to an agenda amendment
directing the district’s attorney to arrange a meeting
with the legal representation of the Saugerties
Teachers’ Association to begin settlement negotiations
in 11 outstanding grievances. According to Heidcamp, the
board expects those negotiations to begin before the end of
October. Some of the grievances were heard during the first
meeting of the school board’s new Labor Relations
Committee, which is comprised of the board of
education’s three newest members - Heidcamp, James
Steinhilber and Mark Thompson. “We’re hearing a lot of these issues for the
first time,” Heidcamp said. “We learned a
lot.” The school board voted unanimously to authorize the
district’s attorney to draw up an agreement with the
town of Saugerties for use of the Kiwanis Ice Arena for high
school graduation ceremonies. The proposal would give the
annual commencement a home for 10 years at a cost of $1,500
per year. According to Rhau, the district spent around twice
as much for this year’s ceremony on items such as tent
and sound system rental. “It’s a good deal,” said trustee Michael
Brennan. “It’s the perfect situation.” The district unanimously approved a list of coaches for
the 2007 winter season, with the boys’ varsity
basketball team being taken over by Mike Tiano. Tiano will
replace outgoing coach Steve Eggink, who decided to step
down to spend more time with family. All the coaching positions were filled with the exception
of the junior varsity boys’ basketball vacancy.
According to the district’s director of physical
education Lee Molyneaux, two candidates from outside the
teaching ranks are being considered after a canvas within
the district didn’t turn up any interested parties.
The next regular monthly meeting of the Board of
Education is scheduled for Tuesday, November 13 at Mt.
Marion Elementary School.