Basha Paris Magee competes in the triple jump at the AIA Open State Championships in May in Mesa. Basha High School track and field athletes are going to get a new track after all, even though a bond election failed in November.
One of the two action items approved Dec. 11 by the Chandler Unified School District Governing Board is an item that could have been funded if a bond issue had been approved by voters in November.
The board sent a $487M bond to voters in the Nov. 5 election, which included money to pay for track surfaces and dozens of other items, but voters soundly rejected it. No school’s tracks were listed by name in the bond pamphlet or other bond documents, though there was a $4 million “Outdoor/Indoor Courts/Tracks” line item.
That means CUSD administrators need to squeeze some important facilities projects out of the dwindling funds from its $290 million 2019 bond. One of those projects is a $700,000 contract with FieldTurf USA to tear out and replace Basha High School’s multi-lane running track at Jim Wall Stadium.
“The Basha track is the original and is over 20 years old,” a staff report states. “The surface has multiple large cracks, and the asphalt base has failed and needs to be replaced.”
Basha opened in 2003 and has never had its track replaced.
The district’s director of support services, Tom Dunn, told the board the track surface has multiple cracks and the asphalt base underneath the track “has failed.”
“You can get about 20 years of life out of the asphalt base,” Dunn said.
Dunn said Hamilton High School, which opened five years ahead of Basha, recently had both the asphalt and surface replaced on its track.
Dunn said the best timeframe to do the work is still being worked out, and might involve leaving the track as-is until the end of track season.
“What we’ll probably end up doing is do the demolition and the paving this summer, leave it paved through football season, then put the polyurethane and the broadcast rubber down during soccer season, and it’ll be ready for (outdoor) track season (in early 2026 ),” Dunn said.
The contract states both phases take about 21 days each to complete.
There’s a 28-day minimum cure time on new asphalt and concrete prior to starting new 5,800-square-yard track surface. Striping takes three or four days.
The warranty on the track surface is only seven years. Board member Jason Olive said the track is non-permeable, which generally costs slightly more than permeable, but lasts a few years longer.
“You can get 10 to 15 years out of the rubberized surface, depending on the maintenance that you do, the care and how much vehicle traffic is on it,” Dunn said.
Superintendent Frank Narducci said administrators will be coming to the board with similar safety-concern projects in the months and years ahead, as Basha’s 20-year age puts it at the tail end of CUSD’s construction boom. Many district 20- to 35-year-old facilities are starting to need a wave of major replacement projects.
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Jason W. Brooks News Editor | Chandler Independent
Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.
Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.
Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.
Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.
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