District Administrators Corner

by Loren Glasbrenner,  River Valley School District Administrator  Progress can look different in different situations.  The River Valley School Board Buildings and Grounds Committee has a vision of what progress looks like. Currently, the Buildings and Grounds Committee includes Fred Iausly (chairperson), Sara Carstensen, Jeff Maier, and Elisabeth Minich.  The committee alternate is John Bettinger, who is also the chairperson of the River Valley School Board Budget/Employee Relations Committee. This team, and previous teams, have held extensive conversations around timelines, maintenance, and budget implications of projects in the district.  A maintenance schedule, created by business manager Brian Krey, estimates costs for these projects from 2020 annually all the way to 2028.  The comprehensive plan includes items that are in need of care and items that will be in need of care.  And, like every plan, it includes estimates, projections, replacement schedules, and inflation. One of the projects that is at the top of this maintenance schedule is the stadium upgrade project.  Plain and simple, the surface of our stadium’s track is beyond repair.  And as we investigated and projected costs of the project, we were given even more complications.  The track surface cannot be sustainably repaired without work to the subsurface due to drainage issues below and above the surface.  It’s as if we were going to repair the deck in our backyard and then took off planks to find the braces underneath were rotted...and all of a sudden, the scope of the work grew. The River Valley School District wants to be a leader in the area when it comes to great things that we offer our students.  So, we investigated how to expand offerings and have our facilities become more inclusive while we were looking into the project.  And there were some great options that surfaced (literally).  The option to expand the field and upgrade the current grass surface field to a synthetic turf field would make the stadium even more accessible to our students.  In our projections, a synthetic turf field could be used five times more than the grass field is currently being used--approximately 250 times on synthetic turf compared to the current use of 50 times on grass.  This upgrade would expand the use of the field to not only include football, but also boys and girls soccer, marching band, cheer, and physical education classes.   Of course, it will cost money.  So, with great consideration, the board approved a process to provide district contributions with a desire to find donations to improve the safety and experience of student-athletes, families, and fans at River Valley.  Here is a quick summary:   The base cost for necessary repairs on, above, and below the track and current playing field is $900,000…and we may need to stop there.  $900,000 is the amount we would need to fix our drainage issues below and above the track and playing surface, while also re-surfacing the track.  But, a synthetic turf field would allow for expanded use and would include all levels of soccer.  This upgrade would allow the field to be used five times more (approximately 250 times compared to the current 50) than it is currently being used at an estimated total cost of $1,500,000.  Based upon this information, the district feels that the return on investment (usage compared to cost) will result in a more inclusive stadium benefiting many more students, activities, and athletic groups.   But we need your help and ask that you Back the Blackhawks!  There is the desire to make progress for the students of River Valley.  More information on the project can be found on our website at https://www.rvschools.org/district/stadium.cfm.  As always, reach out to us if you have any questions.