-Kean High Still Waits for Track

By lovely bee

They say patience is a virtue, but how long does Kean High School have to wait for a track? The track has been prolonged from since 1994, when it was supposed to be under construction! It has been causing problems throughout the school years.

“Nothing goes on with the track,” said Mr. Seipel, the chairperson of the Phys Ed Department at Kean High School. He was straight forward and got right to the point. He said the government said there working on “paper work." The absence of this track prevents us from doing outdoor sports at Kean High, Mr. Seipel added. “It just doesn’t match our standard. We shouldn’t have to accept it."

Dr. Sharon McCollum, the principal at Ivanna Eudora Kean High School, said money has been allocated, bonds has been floated , and all responsibility lies on Darryl Smalls, Commissioner of Public Works. Work is supposed to start soon, according to Mr. Smalls

One question to Dr. McCollum was if the track was built, would it be strictly for school usage only? Dr. McCollum said it would be open to public as well; but her question was who will maintain this track? Dr. McCollum said “It's going to be a big track,” because of the structure and design. She said being that Kean High is accredited now but in 2012, when we have our next accreditation review, not having this track could affect us.

The state that the track is in is unbelievably disappointing to many students. It looks like a desert waiting for rain to fall. It seems like the land is just going to waste. No one knows exactly when the track is going to be completed or how it will be done, but all we can do is wait. One student said, "We have a football team and no place to play. We have had to play on the other schools fields. Also we have a cross country team, and we can’t even plan to compete at our own school."

"We're now in 2009 and still there’s nothing! I think it is a good idea to boost our school spirit and promote our school with the track,” said Carlia, a junior at Kean. "I was told that it was supposed to be built, but they don’t seem to of made any kind of progress in finishing this promised track, and by "they" I mean the government,” said Carlia.

Lisa Williams, class of 1988 said, “Wait and See? We think not.These projects have the potential to run out of funding before they even partially completed. "