RSS 2.0 FeedOctober 14, 2010, Bellmore Life
Turf, a slippery slope?
Board meeting gets heated over turf and coach issue.
The ongoing battle for synthetic turf athletic fields, the plight of the Bellmore-Merrick Police Activity League (PAL) lacrosse program and an issue involving a Calhoun assistant football coach dominated much of the Central High School District’s October 6 board meeting.
Dozens of district residents – parents and members of the Calhoun varsity football team – voiced complaints and concerns about the maintenance and condition of the school’s athletic field, along with injuries to players and the presence of a considerable amount of broken glass fragments found in the soil.
“The field is a mess,” said one speaker, who called it a “field full of glass, rather than grass.”
A Calhoun football team member confirmed that the field was strewn with not only glass, but also with rocks. “A lot of our players are injured and it’s causing disorganization on the team,” he said.
“The field is a mess,” said one speaker, who called it a “field full of glass, rather than grass.”
Several speakers cited a number of neighboring school districts that have installed synthetic turf fields, and pressed for answers as to why the Bellmore-Merrick district has not.
Over the summer, the Calhoun field was re-sodded and replanted with new grass seed.
As recently as the board’s September meeting, John Scalisi, director of facilities, responding to former Trustee John Pinto’s charge that taxpayer funds “had been wasted on seeding and topsoil,” said he was “very impressed with the way the fields look.”
Looks good, but...
A visit to the field by Bellmore Life in late September noted the presence of crabgrass and clumps of weeds growing on various parts of the playing surface.
Board President Nina Lanci replied at last Wednesday’s meeting that the board “is in the process of reviewing recommendations” on improving the fields.
However, the issue goes back to at least late 2006, when the Calhoun and Mepham sports boosters clubs began lobbying for turf fields.
They persisted in their efforts for several months, which prompted the board to call for a study on the feasibility of installing synthetic turf.
By the board’s April, 2007 meeting, an architectural firm’s report indicated synthetic fields would cost between $800,000 and $990,000 per field, versus $120,000 to $130,000 to improve each existing grass field.
At the board’s May, 2007 board meeting, trustees decided to budget $160,000 to re-sod the Calhoun field. The district ended up spending about $200,000 to improve the field.
But by the problem resurfaced (no pun intended) by the spring of 2008 when the board again began receiving complaints about the field’s deteriorating condition.
In the fall 2008 season, the junior varsity football team was not allowed to play a home game on the field.
Mr. Pinto, then a member of the board, continued to press for a synthetic turf field.
School district officials cited heavy use of the Calhoun field by a variety of school teams and outside organizations as contributing factors to the deterioration.
The issue of turf for Calhoun re-emerged in the summer of 2009 but trustees again opted to re-sod the field.
At the board’s March, 2010 meeting, the synthetic turf idea was rejected after recommendations by the district athletic field committee, which was appointed earlier in the year to study the issue, that called for the hiring of two new groundskeepers for $100,000 in salary and benefits to “speed up removal of weeks and to fill in the divots, the main causes of damage to the fields.
A taxpayer decision
At last the October 6 meeting, trustee Susan Schwartz said the decision to go with turf fields “would have to be voted on by the community,” not something that would be decided upon by the community.
“We have certain problems financially. It’s not that simple, we have to go through a budget process.”
One audience member urged that the project be financed with bonds, as the Long Beach school district had recently done.
“We have a responsibility to the taxpayers and to the community,” said Board President Nina Lanci. “We would like to know the numbers (of the cost to the district). We have obligations to the surrounding community.”
Football team members
“What does it take to get a field good enough and that not doesn’t injure any players,” said a football team member. “We’ve collected cupfuls of glass.”
Glass a concern
Mr. Scalisi commented that the field had been carefully raked and that “a few pieces of glass were found; but they could have been there for years.” He noted that all three schools have a problem with glass.
Ms. Lanci blamed the presence of glass on “kids hanging out on the fields after their parents dropped them off to see a movie.” She suggested that after the movie is over they “go to the closest school” to hang out.
But others suggested the glass fragments were mixed in with the soil that was trucked in to re-sod the Calhoun field.
Mr. Pinto cited the presence of goose droppings on the fields, prompting Ms. Lanci to respond: “How do you get rid of goose droppings.”
“Turf fields don’t attract geese,” Mr. Pinto shot back.
“It’s time now to listen to the people and get a turf field,” stated William Kinsley. “A cost study was already done.”
“We are tired of ‘I don’t know we’ll get back to you,’” stated another speaker, George Meyer.
Trustee Jonathan Butler recommended that the synthetic fields issue be placed “on a future ballot.”
District legal counsel Chris Powers advised that the issue would have to be a “free-standing” proposition that could be placed on the May 2011 budget vote ballot. [Ed. note: Recent price quotes to Bellmore Life furnished by A-Turf and LandTek, synthetic turf installers, range from $625,000 to $678,000 for an 80,000-square-foot synthetic field. Prices include excavation of the site and installation of a football-sized field with a five-yard zone surrounding all sides. Multisport lines and logo are included in the prices.]
Fields still needed by PAL
In a related issue carried over from other recent board meetings concerning the use of district athletic fields by the Bellmore-Merrick PAL teams, Ross Perrini???, co-director of the PAL’s lacrosse program, pleaded with the board to allow the use of the middle school field.
“The lacrosse issue is unresolved,” he said. “Without field the program is gone.” He proposed the use of the middle school fields on a rotational basis. “Right now, we’re shot down. We don’t have a field.”
After a discussion by the board, trustee Dr. Matthew Kuschner motioned to allow the PAL lacrosse teams to use the Merrick Avenue Middle School athletic field, which the board approved unanimously.
The presence of the football team, along with that of several parents, had a purpose beyond the issue of Calhoun’s field.
They were there in support of assistant varsity Coach Brian Moeller, which board members would not discuss. The issue centers on an incident that took place at the end of the last school year and was unrelated to his football coaching duties.
Mr. Powers said the board could not discuss the personnel issue, which is in litigation. “State law does not allow them to make a comment,” he said.
In regular business
In regular business, Dr. Mara Bollettieri, assistant superintendent for personnel, presented her beginning-of-the-school-year enrollment report.
Total enrollment is down by 69 students over last year. Present enrollment is 6,025. At the high school level, Calhoun has 1,140 students, Mepham has 1,344 and Kennedy has 1,271,
Merrick Avenue Middle School has 1,970 students and Grand Avenue has 1,021.
Donations accepted
Trustees accepted the following donations:
• $400 from the George Mesologites Memorial Fund for Mepham High School’s Art Department.
• $500 from Allstate Insurance to the Meadowbrook Alternative Learning Program.
• $925 from Bellmore-Merrick United Secondary Teachers and $500 from the Civil Service Employee Association for the purchase of two benches each for the Meadowbrook Alternative Learning Program.
Students honored
Trustees recognized the following National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists: Benjamin Dickstein, Calhoun; Joshua Cohen, Gregory Manis and Darwin Shen, all of Kennedy; and Steven Tsai of Mepham.
The following students achieved New York State School Music Association All State honors: Benjamin Dickstein, jazz band; Joshua Golub, symphonic band, Neil Miller symphony orchestra and Robert Rosen, vocal jazz ensemble, all of Calhoun; and Dana Shapiro, mixed chorus, Kennedy.
The board also presented Kennedy English teacher Vivian Lopez with the Harvard Club of Long Island 2010 Distinguished Teacher Award.
