Oswego City School District Board Of Education Discusses Track And Field Renovations

OSWEGO – The Oswego City School District Board of Education met virtually last night, Tuesday, June 1, regarding the Capital Project for the Oswego Middle School track renovations, the Strategic Planning Board’s progress and to offer an updated timeline on a pair of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSR) Grants the district received.

The Capital Project for the track, which was first prepared in 2017 was discussed at length. Superintendent Dr. Mathis Calvin III explained that the additional items that may be purchased now were not included in the refined scope from 2017 because these items did not need to be replaced or “purchasing it directly from the supplier would be more cost effective,” according to the presentation slides.

These new items that could be purchased include a long/triple jump pit with sand catchers, a pole vault box, a pole vault mat package and a high jump mat package. Some current members of the board were a touch confused when it came to the renovations, disappointed that the track program seemed to take a hit.

“They seem to be forgotten about,” Board of Education member Pam Dowd said. “I think our facilities could have been a whole lot better, and I am slightly disappointed.”

Specifically, Dowd is disappointed that there are no concession stands at the middle school track facility, something typically used as an opportunity to fundraise for the program. However, it is important to note that many of the current pieces of equipment that have not been replaced, like the pads for the pole vault, are relatively new, being purchased in 2008. 

“What you have now, there is nothing wrong with it. They are not torn or ripped or 30 years old. They are still in very good condition,” Cory Jenner said. “There is nothing that is impacting the program of the track and field students. Out of everything, they have gotten a better program because they have the discus, shotput has been completely redone, new surfacing … It really is just new hurdles or new pads [for steeplechase], and those are items that are out of your general operations budget, those were the only things not provided [by the renovation].”

The benefit of some of these upgrades includes the ability to host sectionals at the track, something that Oswego High School’s Athletic Director Rhonda Bullard considers to be very important.

“I had spoken with Rhonda and she would like to see if we could get the full package, get everything possible in,” Calvin said.

Calvin closed the discussion and said that he would have his final recommendation on what the district should purchase for the next meeting. There, the Board of Education would vote if those pieces of equipment should be bought.

After the track renovations, Calvin offered an update on the Strategic Planning Committee. This committee has been tasked with redefining the district’s mission statement, values and other elements that could assist with its long-term goals.

So far, the committee has held five meetings, according to Calvin III, and has several focus areas and steps to go. The five focus areas are the district’s mission, vision, core beliefs, metrics and strategies. 

One important note from Calvin is that the committee does not move on unless all members can support or will publicly support the item at hand. To answer a question from BOE President Heather DelConte regarding how the committee was created, Calvin explained that it was more or less a first come, first serve basis in order to have an adequate sample of stakeholders.

“We put a letter out to the entire community [and we said,] ‘if anybody would like to be a part of that, let us know,’” Calvin said. “We got a good bunch of names, and we just started to plug people in … It was open. A letter went out to the entire community; everyone received it.”

The final discussion of note was in regards to grants that the state and federal government awarded to the Oswego City School District, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA). 

The district received $8,953,519 from the first grant and $3,986,677 from the second. Of the money from the ARP grant, at least 20% of if must be allocated to “address learning loss” and “address disproportionate impact on student subgroups,” according to the presentation slides. The CRRSAA does not have this requirement, however.

For both of the grants, the allocation of funds must include stakeholder engagement. Calvin said that each individual school will have its principal sit down with stakeholder focus groups that are set to include teachers, staff, teachers and other stakeholders.

Agenda items and documents from the meeting can be found here. The full meeting can be viewed in the video link provided above.

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