School Board Goes Forward With Track Resurfacing

The Oak Creek-Franklin School Board gave the go-ahead to about $1.25 million worth of capital projects to be completed in the 2011-12 school year.

Among 15 projects the district will undertake is a .

Officials say it poses a safety risk to athletes and is in great need of repairs. About $20,000 worth of temporary fixes were done last year, but those were only designed to last two years, Superintendent Sara Burmeister said.

By contrast, the resurfacing approved Monday night, at a cost of $168,000, will hold for many years to come, she said.

The projects are prioritized one through 15, so that if the district does not have as much money as first thought, they will be done in order.

The track is ranked 15th, so it stands to be the first one axed. But despite the recent hoopla over the state budget, Burmeister said during Monday's School Board meeting she expects Oak Creek-Franklin will have all of the $1.25 million that is anticipated.

The projects were selected largely out of safety concerns, or in some cases, to increase energy efficiency and save money.

Besides the track, other improvements include replacing the PA system at Edgewood Elementary, regrading a physical education field at East Middle School and creating more parking at Deerfield.

Part of the capital improvement money will also go toward a . 

The $1.25 million the board approved Monday is the normal amount the district spends on capital projects each year, officials said.