Old Orchard Junior High School students will have a new track to run on by the time school opens later this month, school officials say.
That may be difficult to believe for those who have driven by the school where the ground has been torn up and large mounds of dirt have been visible for most of the summer.
“We’ve been told the track will be ready for the start of school,” Skokie School District 68 Superintendent Jim Garwood said. “It’s still on schedule.”
The grassy area inside the large oval track will likely be closed off to start the year, he said, but school officials expect the track itself to be usable when the first school bell rings Aug. 25.
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Garwood said the heavily-used track was identified as needing a significant overhaul some time ago. “There are places where the track was lumpy, cracked and uneven,” he said.
The overhaul, which the district says is its biggest capital improvement project of the summer, benefits more than just students at District 68.
The track is open for use by the community, Garwood noted, and the Skokie Park District has activities going on there as well. A cricket league plays near the track after a cricket pitch was installed there not long ago, he said.
According to Garwood, the track is now 20 years old and has met its expected life span.
The track upgrade is the first of a two-phase renovation project, according to the district. Next summer, Garwood said, the district will upgrade fields behind the track, which are also heavily used.
The district has estimated the cost of both phases at a little over $1 million — $750,000 for the track this summer and $250,000 for next year’s field improvements.
The park district will also contribute $117,000 to the project because of its use of the track and fields, Garwood said.
The project would likely have cost even more, District 68 officials say, had the track and then the fields been addressed as separate projects. Riemer Engineering will perform work for both phases with one exception, Garwood said.
As part of phase one, he said, the district will build a detention area for water runoff. Andrew McCann Lawn Sprinkler Co. is undertaking the irrigation work, the district said.
District 68 says it will pay for the work from its reserve funds. According to Garwood, the district tries to space out its costliest projects over time, so it isn’t saddled with multiple heavy expenses at once.
Last year, for example, the district spent more on technology, introducing iPads for students and teachers; the year before, it built new entrances at a couple of its schools to enhance safety.
The cost for the track and field work — “a lot of money,” Garwood acknowledged — had strong support from the school board, which authorized the work in the most cost-efficient manner as possible, he said.
“When we look at the work and the price tag,” Garwood said, “what swayed us was the safety of the students. We knew for a while that sooner or later we would also have to tackle the fields, so doing this all as a bigger project seemed our best option.”
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