I appreciate the opportunity to clarify how these facilities are being used and the district’s commitment to providing opportunities for our students, athletic teams, and community members. I would like to address some of the questions the district received to provide some clarity from the district.
First and foremost, Fruitland School District is proud and thankful for these new facilities, and we want them to be a resource that benefits our students, athletic programs, and community for many years to come. Our goal is to balance accessibility with our responsibility to protect the significant investment made in these facilities.
1. Community Access to the Track and Walking Path
The district recognizes the importance of providing community members with a safe and accessible place to walk and exercise. In fact, we intentionally included a designated walking path as part of the facility improvements to ensure our patrons would have an area available for recreational use.
The walking path is open to the community when school activities and events are not taking place. While the track and turf field are secured behind a locked fence, this is primarily to protect the new facilities and ensure they are used appropriately.
Unfortunately, we have experienced issues with unauthorized use of district grounds, including electric bikes, motorcycles, bicycles, and dogs being brought onto areas where they could cause damage. These situations reinforce the importance of having reasonable safeguards in place.
We certainly want our community to enjoy these improvements. Additionally, we have already welcomed Payette County Recreation District (PCRD) youth teams onto the turf field on multiple occasions. We value our partnership with PCRD and will continue looking for opportunities to make our facilities available to community programs while ensuring they are properly maintained.
2. High School and Middle School PE Classes Using the Facilities
Our PE classes absolutely have access to the track and turf field, and these facilities are already being used by students.
For example, Fruitland Middle School PE classes have utilized the track for their mile runs, and the middle school held its Jog-a-Thon on the new track. When students are simply walking laps rather than participating in running activities, teachers are encouraged to use the designated walking path.
Additionally, it was reported that both our middle school and high school cross-country programs have utilized the track for training.
The intention is not to restrict educational or athletic opportunities but to ensure we are using the facilities appropriately for the activities taking place.
We want our students to benefit from these outstanding facilities, and physical education is an important part of that commitment.
3. Student-Athlete Access Outside of Their Sports Seasons
We absolutely support our student-athletes who want to improve their skills, train, and prepare for upcoming athletic seasons.
Students wishing to use the track outside of their regular sports season should be able to do so by coordinating with the appropriate school personnel to request and schedule access.
There may have been some miscommunication regarding this process earlier in the year, and we will work to ensure expectations are clearly communicated moving forward.
Our goal is to support our Fruitland athletes, not create unnecessary barriers to their development. We want our students to have every opportunity to train, compete, and be successful.
4. Use of the Turf Field by Sports Other Than Football
The new turf field was designed with multiple athletic programs in mind. In fact, we intentionally included soccer lines on the field because we want both our boys’ and girls’ soccer programs to have the opportunity to practice and compete on the turf.
As we prepared for the first year of using our new facilities, we discussed continuing to play soccer games on the grass fields for this season while working through the logistics of transitioning games to the turf. We already have a plan in place to provide opportunities for soccer games to be played on the turf next year.
One consideration is that a soccer field is wider than a football field. This requires protective mats or coverings over portions of the track where soccer players wearing cleats would cross or play when the ball goes out of bounds. These precautions are necessary to protect the new track surface and ensure the facility remains in excellent condition.
Additionally, our high school marching band and color guard have made extensive use of the turf field this fall. We have also welcomed PCRD youth football and cheerleading programs, further demonstrating that the facility is already serving a variety of school and community activities.
The turf field is not a football-only facility, and it has never been our intention for it to be one. Our goal is to provide all of our athletic teams and student organizations with access to outstanding facilities. As we complete our first year of use, we will continue working with our coaches and staff to expand opportunities, improve scheduling, and ensure the facilities benefit as many students and programs as possible.
Moving Forward
I want to emphasize that Fruitland School District’s vision is for these facilities to serve our entire school community, not just one team or program.
We are proud and grateful for the improvements that have been made, and we want our students, coaches, families, and community members to share in that pride.
At the same time, we have a responsibility to maintain these facilities so they remain in excellent condition for future generations of Grizzlies. Finding the right balance between accessibility, scheduling, appropriate use, and protecting the investment is something we will continue to work on.
As we develop our district’s 10-Year Facilities Plan, we are having important conversations about how to provide all our athletic programs and student activities with the best possible facilities. We want to be thoughtful about future improvements and ensure that our facilities support the needs of all our students.
We also recognize that this is our first year operating these new facilities. As with any major improvement, there will be opportunities to learn, make adjustments, and improve our procedures.
Our commitment is to work collaboratively with our coaches, staff, students, PCRD, and community members to make these facilities a source of pride and opportunity for all of Fruitland.
Thank you again for sharing your concerns and for supporting our schools and student-athletes.
Be A Grizzly!!
Stoney Winston
Superintendent
Fruitland School District