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The city’s middle schools may soon have some parity when it comes to playing field quality, after City Council members supported a plan Tuesday for new track and field at Crittenden Middle School.
The $1.4 million proposal would replace Crittenden’s western-most softball field with a track and field similar to that of Graham Middle School’s. The 100-yard field could be used for football, soccer, lacrosse or rugby. The turf would be synthetic, allowing it to be used all year. The grass fields now there have to be closed for three months every year to keep the grass alive.
“The word we use is equity,” said Mountain View Whisman school board member Ellen Wheeler as she thanked the city for working cooperatively with the school district on the fields, one of many the city maintains for the school district. District staff also praised the project.
Construction on the new fields is expected in 2015. The softball teams that use the Crittenden field slated for replacement have been told that the city’s new ball fields near Shoreline Park, on Garcia Avenue, should be ready to use by then.
Wheeler and others also thanked the city for planning to extend the Permanente Creek Trail along the edge of Crittenden, providing a route to the new Shoreline ball fields for students.
Not included in the project is a concessions stand, which exists at Graham, council member John McAlister pointed out.
In 2006, the city installed the track and field at Graham above an eight-million gallon underground emergency water reservoir, a $12 million project. City staff members said the artificial turf there is near the end of its life.
I hope they are also planning a nice trail along Permanente Creek to link Rock Street with Middlefield Road. This is an important neighborhood connection to the new bicycle underpass/overpass across 101 at Permanente Creek.
Thanks!
Nice to see the schools out here looking better. New. It really is needed for our kids and their kids in the future. I really do think we have some of the best schools.
Sad that Crittenden doesn’t have lockers? Okay? They can hide weapons in there too you know. I’m sure the kids don’t care, if they did they would ask for some. I attended Crittenden about 15 years ago & my kid will go soon. It’s a great school.
Track and field…all the sports they will play on this new! Awesome!
This is awesome, I agree. But where will they play while construction is going on??? How long will this take??? Will it affect any sports during that year???
I hope the kids & classrooms are not being interrupted while this is going on. The sports & PE classes are also very important. Can’t wait to see!
My 6th grader had to miss a spiorts activity this week due to sever back pain/spasms from carrying his heavy backpack on campus and on his bike for the long ride home. If he does not carry every binder and all his supplies, he loses grade points. Add his lunch, jacket, and other items and the backpack weighs 30+ lbs! he only weighs 80lbs! GET THE LOCKERS!! This is inhumane Principle Chang!
Just Great, gonna fix up fields so soccer players can trash it like they always tear up the grass.
@ PeninsulaBeauty. My kid goes to school there and her and all of her friends complain about having to carry their 15 lb backpacks all day.
You just wait when your kid goes there. Ask them how they feel about lugging a 15lb backpack around all day. I’m sure they won’t be happy about it.
In fact. You try walking around at lunch with a backpack of equal weight. I bet you’ll think twice about having lockers.
Read Dawn’s comment. Her kid has back pain and she is right. It’s inhumane. There really isn’t an excuse not to have them, especially when all of the other middle schools have lockers.
The PTA needs to step up and make this one of it’s priorities.
Construct8ion of the extension of the trail to Rock Street should begin soon if it has not already began.
The Permanente Creek extension by Crittenden is not yet finalized. It looks like it will be a very tight squeeze right next to the 2 story building – build over the creek there? This will be a SCV Water District / City / MVWSD staff project.
The synthetic soccer/football field will not be ‘torn up’ by winter play. No grass. That part is city $$. The ‘dance’, as City staff explained, is to build the new lighted City softball fields (Shoreline area) before the Crittenden lighted filed is taken out.
The School Board sets District Policy. It also votes on Facilities money. If a few lockers are parents / kids priorities it needs to be made clear to the Board (Trustees@mvwsd.com) and to date I do not think it has been. The decision then ‘defaults’ to the particular Principal or District Administration.
(IMO) not all kids need / want lockers, and a few could use an extra-tall one for their ‘long boards’ (alternate transportation) besides their binders. Have the kids themselves been surveyed on this?
I speak for myself!
Well it’s 2015. The library has been demolished, the bus lot is scraped, and most classrooms have large TV screens. But there has been no work at all on this synthetic field what so ever. By the way, I did not know that the fields are out of use for part of the year. As a student in 8th grade I have seen that it is used all year long.
How about using some of that money to provide lockers for all the kids?
Crittenden is the only middle school in the area (Mtn. View, Palo Alto, Los Altos) that doesn’t have them.
It’s no only sad, but a security risk. Any of these kids carrying their 10+ lb backpacks can easily hide a weapon.