School Committee Hears Concerns About Plan For New Athletic Facilities

Weeks after the Nantucket Public School (NPS) administration unveiled a new plan to renovate its athletic complexes, the school is facing strong pushback from a number of concerned students, parents, and coaches who feel that the proposed new facilities are unsafe and insufficient.

“If we don't...consider expanding capacity or consider turf, we'll be right back here in a few years with the same overused fields, uneven surfaces, and more vulnerabilities and injuries,” island resident and parent Graham Veysey said. “It seems an impossible task for the grounds crew to fix grass that never gets a chance to recover, and we also can't ask our kids to play fewer sports to solve our problem, so we need to give them more safe and consistent fields.”

The current proposal calls for an asphalt track, a PFAS-free natural grass playing field, and several new buildings.

“We're at a point where we don't really have a choice. We have got to move forward with this project,” Superintendent Elizabeth Hallett said at a recent School Committee meeting. “The field condition that we currently have is acceptable, but not nearly what we would really want it to be for the safety of our players and the needs of our student athletes. So my hope is that we can move quickly with this.”

Nine community members rose to speak against the proposed plan Tuesday.

“I have serious concerns about the proposed use of asphalt for the new track,” junior varsity girls soccer coach and emergency room nurse Kate Garrette said. “This surface is dangerous for student-athletes for several reasons. It significantly increases the risk of shin splints, stress fractures, and joint pain. Asphalt doesn't properly absorb shock, meaning the force from each step travels through the body with little cushioning. It's an unforgiving surface that does not meet the standards of modern athletic safety.”

Grace Hanlon, a Nantucket High School student who is a member of the cross-country and indoor track team, echoed her comments.

“It is actually very bad for your body. Asphalt is super hard, so when you run on it, all of the impact goes straight into your knees, ankles and shins,” Hanlon said. “As a runner, my coaches are constantly saying how much soft surfaces [are] better for your legs.”

While School Committee members did not formally respond to concerns during Tuesday’s meeting, at the meeting where the athletic complex overhaul was first discussed, the members present gave it unanimous support.

“I quite like this,” School Committee member Vince Murphy said at the time. “I appreciate change is difficult and people want to have multi-use surfaces, but looking at it all in context...I like this.

Concerns about choosing natural grass over turf may be particularly vexing for School Committee members and the NPS administration. Three years ago, NPS floated a proposal to install two artificial turf fields as part of a larger campus-wide facilities improvement project, but backed down after facing intense opposition from local groups concerned about the impacts of the so-called “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, which have been tied to cancer and other health problems and are often found in turf fields. Now, some community members want them to go back to turf.

“If we rejected everything synthetic, there would be nothing to build. What matters is we research and choose the best, safest, and most sustainable materials,” Veysey said.

Some speakers suggested that there are PFAS-free synthetic options the school could pursue.

The new athletic complexes will also feature bathrooms, improved ADA compliance, a new booster and concessions building, lighting that complies with dark sky regulations, and new bleachers.

Preliminary estimates suggest that the project will cost around $15-18 million and take at least two years to finish.

Construction will disrupt several high school sports and classes, forcing teams to find alternative locations for their games. But the administration believes these costs are worth it.

“In the long run, we'll have a beautiful stadium with a track, and it will be great,” NPS director of facilities and grounds Chip Clunie said at a recent School Committee meeting.