Schools & Offices Closed - 2/20
All UCFSD schools and offices will be closed Wednesday, February 20, 2019.
Strategic planning is a hallmark of the district's approach to effective governance, responsible stewardship and excellence in education. The district develops long range strategic plans in many areas including curriculum, technology, facilities / grounds, and our comprehensive plan. Long range planning allows the district to focus on the highest priorities in order to best meet the safety and instructional needs of students. Planning supports continually looking at current and future needs - adapting to change and adopting best practices.
Read more about district-wide planning here.
Click to view our UCF Success for All: Stewardship Video
January 14, 2019 - Long Range Facilities Plan:Options for the Scope of Work and Financing. Administration provided additional rationale for double turf field and update on AG 707.
Currently there is no plan to spend $10 million dollars on our outdoor facilities. That number was thrown out as a “ball park” number of what everything in the draft plan might cost if fully built out. The final plan, was presented in September, and featured conceptual level estimate ranges for each element of the plan. This allows the plan to cost whatever the Board, community, and administration believe is the right amount to spend in order to support our programs, and maintain our facilities in a safe and fiscally responsible manner. Why have we heard that the plan is costing $10 million dollars?
Consultant self-serving in recommending this work in order to get follow up business.
The District follows state bidding requirements in awarding design and construction work. It’s possible that K&W could be awarded work in the future but it would be done through a competitive RFP process that would provide the most value to the District.
Facilities are fine and require no upgrades - majority of those surveyed think things are fine.
Survey was one piece of this. There is other data supporting this... The life expectancy of current facility materials and Tennis courts are over 25 years old and need to be replaced anyway - this is a good opportunity to do that.
Facilities are fine for school use and upgrades are being done only for outside organizations.
Most of the upgrades being proposed are prioritized based on improving the overall safety of the campus. The other elements are being proposed either as a result of the safety upgrades (relocation of tennis courts), or to improve current site deficiencies (parking, sloped fields, etc.). There is no additional space being built for outside organizations to use.
Unionville Elementary School
How would the double turf field benefit our middle school students?
All middle school students take PE twice a week for the entire year. Outside PE class would occur on the double turf, daily, weather permitting, from August - November, and March - June - providing students with fresh air and natural light - two key factors in student wellness. Additionally, the double turf would be used for HawkTime on Fridays
Why do students need to spend so much time outside for PE?
The gym is small and class sizes are large. The double turf field will provide a more consistent outdoor teaching space for kids/classes to spread out. When fields are closed, instruction can be challenging and limited with all of the students in the gym.
Why can’t the middle school students just use the high school turf for PE class?
The HS turf field is far from the middle school nurse's office. Using the HS turf field costs about 8 minutes of class time, this is in addition to the 5 minutes before and the 5 minutes at the conclusion of class that kids are allotted to get changed. This takes up a large chunk of the 42 minute class period.
Aren’t PE classes held on the fields that are currently in place? What difference would having a turf field make?
Middle school PE cannot use the grass fields when they are wet from rain or melting snow. This includes several days after a storm when fields are still soft. It is hard to quantify how many days of outdoor PE is lost due to poor weather conditions, however, Physical Education teachers estimate losing about 1 month in the fall and 1 month in the spring. Additionally, like all other fields on our campus, the fields behind Patton need to rest - especially our varsity softball field.
Why are we replacing our existing synthetic turf field? Will the new field be better?
Our current synthetic turf field is due for replacement, and by replacing it we will make the field safer for our athletes. Currently, the fibers are frayed, broken, and fallen over. A new surface will allow the fibers to stand up vertically and keep the crumb rubber down below the fibers. The newer dual fiber turf also provides better “fly-out” control which helps keeps the crumb rubber in the base of the field instead of on the surface where it is currently located in our older worn-out field.
Are there alternatives to using crumb rubber in a synthetic turf field?
Over the past few years, manufacturers have brought other types of infill solutions to market; cork, coconut husks, TPM rubber, EPDM rubber, etc, and none have caught on to replace crumb rubber. Some of these have created maintenance concerns, some usability concerns, and some were just too expensive to justify the premium costs.
Are there negative health effects on athletes who practice/play on synthetic turf fields?
Over the past 3-4 years there have been numerous additional reports and studies by various state agencies that have concluded that there is no definitive link to crumb rubber and health effects on athletes.
Synthetic turf research - answers to common questions
Synthetic turf pitches with rubber granulate infill - are there health risks
Citizen science often overstates ‘cancer clusters’ like the one linked to artificial turf
FIFA statement on potential cancer risks from exposure to SBR in artificial turf fields
Ripken foundation - Crumb rubber cancer risk at or below 1 in a million
What research has been done regarding this concern?
One of the more current studies (2017) is from the Washington State Board of Health. This study was in direct response to the University of Washington soccer coach Amy Griffen who in 2014 observed high cancer rates in soccer goalies. This was later picked up by NBC news and made national headlines.The Washington SBH report, dispels the notion that there is a connection between youth cancer cases and playing soccer on recycled rubber fields. Additionally, a key finding that the SBH investigators found, was that most athletes identified on the list actually spent the majority (70-74%)of their careers playing and practicing on natural grass fields.
We welcome and appreciate feedback from our Community. Please share your thoughts and ideas with us by filling out the form below.
Long Range Facilities Plan feedback Form
Questions? Please contact us at ucfsdcommunications@ucfsd.net
All UCFSD schools and offices will be closed Wednesday, February 20, 2019.