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Parents urge Guilderland schools to repair and consolidate tennis courts, district says an inspection is scheduled
Summary
Parents and coaches told the Guilderland Central School District Board of Education on Sept. 9 that deteriorating tennis courts at Guilderland High School pose safety risks, and asked the district to resurface or replace courts, consolidate courts on one side of campus and fund an assistant coach and bleachers.
Multiple parents and community members urged the Guilderland Central School District Board of Education on Sept. 9 to repair and consolidate the high school’s tennis courts, describing uneven surfaces, divots and standing water that they say have caused injuries and safety risks.
Parent comments, submitted by email and read during the meeting, described recurring problems across both the east-side and varsity courts. The messages said water pools above an underlying marsh, gates are damaged, and temporary “band-aid” repairs are insufficient. One parent who signed a lengthy submission wrote that the courts “are sitting on top of a marsh, water pools to the surface” and that “there are cracks, divots, and holes in the surface, which could cause injuries.” Several correspondents asked the board to consider building a contiguous set of courts on the east side of campus and to approve an assistant coach, bleachers, and a maintenance program.
Why it matters: Parents and athletes said poor court conditions can cause ankle sprains and worse, reduce competitive opportunities, and make it difficult for coaches to supervise players because the courts are split by a large parking lot. One parent supplied an estimated cost for placing courts together at about $600,000 and requested at least nine courts so matches could run without delays.
District response and next steps: A district official told the board a company has been scheduled to inspect the courts this month (September) and make what repairs are appropriate short of full replacement. The official said a permanent fix would require complete replacement of the courts and that any full reconstruction would be a capital project requiring planning and likely voter authorization if funded from a capital reserve.
Discussion and context: Board members and staff noted the issue has been raised repeatedly in past years and that funding comes with trade-offs in the capital planning process. Speakers on the dais asked facilities staff and athletics administrators to provide a consolidated assessment of needs and costs across sports and to identify whether an assistant coach is warranted in the near term.
Ending: Parents asked the district to prioritize safety and to return to the board with a clear timetable and cost estimate after the contractor’s inspection.
