Gino Facca is hoping a closed file can be reopened.
“I want to keep the debate alive because it's important for kids to have these tracks,” said Facca, who plans to attend Tuesday’s Greater Essex County District School Board’s public meeting.
Last year, the tracks at Herman, Massey, Belle River, and Kennedy high schools were deemed unsafe, leading to a decision to remove them and replace the tracks with grass.
Facca feels the decision, coupled with the removal of pools, is sending the wrong message.
“They're slowly eroding away all sports in high schools and grade schools,” Facca said.
Norbert Heredi credits a local track club for putting his grade 12 daughter in a position to earn a scholarship.
“I compare Riverside and Sandwich because that's kind of apples to apples, and our kids at Massey don't have that opportunity. They should have that same opportunity as all the other kids do at the other schools,” said Heredi.
The tracks at are visibly worn.
“You build something, you have to maintain that. And if they're not budgeting for maintenance, then maybe there needs to be a change in the way things are funded,” Facca said.
Last September, the board reported the cost to remove and replace each track with grass was $2.3 million.
The cost to replace three of the four schools with regulation six lane tracks is upwards of $5.5 million.
“I'm getting numbers where it's four to five hundred thousand [dollars] per track to redo with asphalt,” Facca pointed out as a reason to revisit the fate of each track.
Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie has spoken to Facca about the issue.
“We have the highest funding we've ever seen in education, still there are a lot of needs on the system and tough choices are often made because we want to have the best for our students,” said Dowie, who feels there are still opportunities to explore. “Here in Tecumseh, soccer fields are on land leased from L'Essor high school and so there are all kinds of opportunities there for co-location and more intensive use of the fields, the facilities that we have.”
