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Pleasanton Middle School parents, students and staff celebrated the grand opening of the school’s brand-new synthetic turf field and track last week.
The field renovation project is one of the first marquee Measure I projects that has been completed since voters approved the $395 million general bond back in November 2022. And according to district officials, the other two middle schools in town could soon follow suit with construction anticipated to begin in January.
“Ultimately this field is about our kids,” PMS principal Marco Lopez said during the Oct. 15 ribbon-cutting ceremony. “It gives our panthers a safe, modern space to play, learn and compete.”
For years, it has been widely known that the field at PMS was riddled with problems. Students like Akhil Gunampally — an eighth grader who currently serves as the school’s student body president — said he has seen the field covered with gopher holes and geese feces.
“Before it looked old and not that good … it didn’t look professional — it was good for a school but now it’s so professional and it looks good,” Gunampally told the Weekly. “It’s a good attribute to our school and it will make our school much better.”
In the past, local community groups such as We Are Pleasanton have raised awareness and attempted to address the deteriorated middle school field following the failure of Measure M in 2020.
However, not much came out of those efforts, which is why when Measure I passed in 2022, the district prioritized the Pleasanton Middle School field to be at the top of the bond’s project list.
Design for the new track and field began in the fall of 2023 and construction started in March of this year. The scope of work for the project included converting the main grass field to synthetic turf, installing an all-weather track, renovating the surrounding existing grass area, adding new play courts and making necessary accessibility upgrades.
According to Aaron Kael, executive director of facilities, construction and bond programming for the district, one significant difference from the old field to the new one is that students were actually able to use the athletic field on Oct. 15 despite the rain over the previous two days. The school would have had to let the old field dry up for a few days before students could use it.
Kael also mentioned that the synthetic field material is made out of hypoallergenic, natural products that can be used for many purposes. In regards to the surrounding natural grass fields, which will eventually feature a cricket pitch, Kael said it could take another two to three months for the seedlings to take root before students can use it but it ultimately depends on weather conditions.
Until this point, the district has spent nearly $5.5 million related to construction and purchase of the new turf and track, according to Kael, with the district also expecting to pay roughly $2.3 million for other soft costs related to the final phases of wrapping up the project.
And while Kael noted it is a little early to estimate the final amount the district would have paid for the overall project, he said the total costs are projected to come under budget — the total amount of Measure I funds that had been budgeted for the PMS field project was about $9.72 million, Kael said.
“Because of your investment, our panthers now have a field that reflects panther pride,” PUSD Superintendent Maurice Ghysels said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Many of the speakers during the event noted how important the completion of the project was for the school community.
“It’s one thing to be at the dais and talk about these projects — it’s another thing to stand here in the middle of a completed field that looks so gorgeous,” PUSD Board of Trustees President Justin Brown said at the event.
Bill Butler, a longtime Pleasanton resident with a background in education and who helped with the campaign supporting the approval of Measure I in 2022, said the project’s completion means a lot to the community.
“Our Pleasanton downtown has natural borders. This is kind of our southwest corner of our town and what used to be an eyesore now is something really beautiful,” Butler told the Weekly.
Butler also said now that this first Measure I project is done, he can’t wait to see what other improvements are made across the district thanks to the support of residents who voted for the bond measure.
“When we can have infrastructure projects like this, it’s why we do it,” he said.
As for the other two field renovation projects at Hart and Harvest Park middle schools, Kael said the district is already bidding out to find contractors and that construction — if everything goes as planned — is expected to begin for both in January.
Very cool. Is it open to the public to run around during non-school days?