School practices differ on public access to athletic facilities

CEDAR RAPIDS — For the past four years, Jenny Waddilove used the track at West High School in Iowa City for her running workouts.

'My kids have always come along with me,' said Waddilove, whose children attend Borlaug Elementary School. 'As they get older, they're now running along with me. It's just kind of a way to spend time with the family.'

That changed last month, Waddilove said, when she went to the school's track and football field and found a locked gate.

The school last summer completed a new turf field there and decided to secure the facility, athletic director Scott Kibby explained.

But Waddilove's story is not unique. School playgrounds in Corridor districts generally are open to the public outside of school hours, as are some tracks and athletic fields. Many of those facilities are funded by taxpayer dollars, and residents who live near some schools frequently use the tracks for casual exercise.

But for some schools, the money they put into new fields — combined with the special maintenance needs of those facilities — means it's not worth it to risk possible damage by allowing in the general public.

Protecting Investments

At West High, the turf football field around which the track runs costs about $1 million, said Duane VanHemert, the Iowa City Community School District's director of physical plant.

Playgrounds at the district's elementary schools are always open to the public, VanHemert said. But some high school athletic facilities have more restricted access.

'Especially when you spend a million dollars on a turf field,' VanHemert said. 'You want to have some control.'

The material of which the field is made also matters, Kibby said. Turf has lower maintenance costs than grass and is safer after heavy rain or in freezing weather, he said. But it also has special maintenance requirements.

'This is like your living room shag carpet — if you get gum in it, it's not coming out,' Kibby said.

Foods such as sunflower seeds and peanut shells cause problems with the field's drainage system, he added.

Other school districts have similar practices. In the Marion Independent School District, playgrounds are open to the public, but some outside organizations have to pay maintenance fees to use fields or gyms, said John Donner, the district's business manager.

The fees cover maintenance and cleanup costs, Donner said. And the district tries to keep casual users off its fields for maintenance reasons, he said.

Public access

Waddilove said she understands that districts want to protect their investments. But most adults could be trusted not to damage the field, she said.

'The taxpayers at the school district have paid for the track,' she said. 'Even if they wanted to open it up for certain hours, I would be OK with that.'

Some Corridor schools embrace that idea. In Cedar Rapids, Kingston Stadium is open to the public from 7 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday, said Matt Dunbar, the stadium's manager and the Cedar Rapids Community School District's manager of custodial and grounds.

Dunbar said he's not concerned about damage to the field at Kingston, which received new turf in 2009.

'If they're using facilities the way responsible people would, there's no concern at all,' he said.

The Linn-Mar Community School District restricts public access to its new multipurpose stadium, which includes a track and a football and soccer field, said Dirk Halupnik, the deputy superintendent. But two other tracks and another field are open to the public, he said.

The Iowa Legislature this year passed a law to ease concerns about liability for recreational activities on public property after the city of Dubuque banned sledding in some public areas. The law also protects schools.

The College Community School District requires organizations renting its facilities to name the district as an insured party, said John Speer, the superintendent, though that might change under the new law. But the district's facilities are open for families or other residents, Speer said.

'Our facilities are used a lot, and we do that purposely,' Speer said. 'They are public facilities.'