Board discusses athletic facilities

CLINTONVILLE – When the Clintonville Board of Education met March 31, it discussed the district’s athletic facilities, identifying problem areas that need to be addressed.
After the discussion, Clintonville Superintendent Troy Kuhn told the board he would meet with the district’s administrative team regarding the district’s athletic facilities. He said he would also look for a more permanent solution, which would probably include an additional building being added to the district.

Baseball & softball
Regarding baseball, Kuhn said the city of Clintonville is able to repair the roof on the grandstand at Don Jirschele Stadium at W.A. Olen Park, so the high school baseball team should be able to play its games there.

He added that the high school softball team will play its games at Bucholtz Park, which is owned by the city.
“The reason why we chose to do that, is not just the field, but the ADA compliance to get to the fields,” Kuhn said. “Our [school district’s] baseball and softball fields, there is no way of getting there. There’s no way for a wheelchair to get to our fields. It’s a big issue.”
Kuhn said one idea would be for the district to move its softball field to where the shotput and discus area is located for track and field, and then turn the district’s current soccer field into a parking lot.
“So, we need to have a parking lot so close to the baseball and softball field to make it compliant for handicapped,” Kuhn said. “That’s the only way that we could do that.”
Anytime an athletic field is redone, Kuhn said it can cost around a half million dollars. Building a brand-new field could cost $1-$2 million.

Wrestling
Wrestling practice currently takes place in the district’s Rec Center. Kuhn acknowledged that the number of students participating in wrestling is increasing.
He said the original proposal called for the wrestling area to return to the wrestling room, and the high school weight room was going to be on the second floor of the Rec Center. During the last referendum, that plan was scrapped because an elevator would have needed to be installed to make the second-floor handicap assessable.
“That is why the balcony is built the maximum size for the Rec Center, it’s as big as we could go without having an elevator,” Kuhn said.
Several locations within the district have been discussed about housing the wrestling program, Kuhn said.

“Having a dedicated space for wrestling is more efficient, it’s probably more sanitary, but where is that going to be?” Kuhn asked.
Board member Klint Barkow questioned the decision during the last referendum to get rid of the elevator that would have allowed the district to have a second-floor weight room at the Rec Center.
Kuhn said several meetings took place at the time to discuss the elevator before it is was eventually decided to scrap that from the plans.
Board President Ben Huber said the elevator would have cost more than $1 million if it had stayed in the plans.
“It was not a decision made lightly,” Huber said.

Soccer
Kuhn said soccer participation within the district is growing. This spring, there are 50 middle school students participating in soccer.
Based on the numbers, Kuhn said the district needs to think about where it wants its soccer fields.

Football & track
Kuhn told the board that the district needs to replace the track that is around the football field. It needs to be replaced within the next five years.

When the last referendum was discussed, the district had discussed a turf football field.
“If we decide to go a turf route, we gotta get turf and football not connected anymore,” Kuhn said.
Kuhn said he has communicated with the Little Chute School District and Notre Dame Academy in Green Bay about their turf football fields. Through that communication, Kuhn said he learned that those districts use the turf field for more than just football. The turf field is also used for recess for students, practices, as well as used by the community.
If the district were to pursue a turf stadium, Kuhn said the current field would need to be torn up. The track would also have to be redone, pitching it toward the field instead of away from the field, and having drainage added under the track to drain the water away from the field.

Rec Center

An addition to the Rec Center could also be a possibility for the district, Kuhn said.
“In talking with the city, we need a youth center, we need something for these middle schoolers,” Kuhn said.
He said currently, after school, some middle school students go to the Rec Center to visit or do homework.
“That’s not necessarily what that Rec Center is for,” Kuhn said. “So, do we look at building some type of area, another gym, another youth space?”

Tennis courts

Kuhn said the cost to replace the district’s tennis courts will is estimated to be $120,000-$400,000.
“We’re going to have to make that decision in the next three or four years, cause they’re crumbling,” Kuhn said.