Aromas
– Until recently, playing soccer at the Aromas School field was
a challenge, given the large amount of holes and its tendency to
flood.
Aromas – Until recently, playing soccer at the Aromas School field was a challenge, given the large amount of holes and its tendency to flood.
“There were a lot of bumps, so when you were running with the ball you would fall a lot,” Aromas fifth-grader Taylor Large said.
But thanks to a significant donation from Graniterock, the kindergarten through eighth-grade school was able to install a completely new field and build a track.
The new track and field was officially opened Friday at Aromas School, giving students the chance to play games in the grass and run around the new track.
“The field is now full of kids at recess and full of people utilizing the field on weekends and after school,” Aromas School Principal Stephanie Siddens said. “It’s just like night and day.”
The $180,000 project was built primarily through a donation from the Watsonville-based material supplier and engineering contractor Graniterock. The schools parent teacher organization also donated to the project.
Jackie Muñoz, the superintendent of the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District, said they went to Graniterock because they knew the company supported education and community-based projects, and they had few other sources for funding.
“The field was awful and needed to be refurbished, but the district didn’t have the funding,” Muñoz said. Graniterock agreed to help with the field, which is used by much of the Aromas community.
“We were happy to help, so that the school not only has the academics it needs, but students have to opportunity to go out and blow off steam,” Graniterock CEO Bruce Woolpert said.
The students, who took part in a walk around the track at the grand opening celebration, seemed to enjoy the new field and athletic opportunities it provided.
Valerie Perez, 9, said she was glad the new field did not flood as much as the previous one.
“When we went to P.E., we would get all wet because of the water,” the fourth-grader said. “Sometimes we had to play on the black top, and that’s not fun.”
Muñoz said that with the current emphasis on preventing childhood obesity, it is important for the school to have a field students want to play on.
“When kids arrive now, they just start walking around the track,” she said.
The completed track and field is just the first phase of the field renovation project. The school will also be getting a new tennis court, fencing and trees.
The second phase is set to start in summer and be finished before school starts.
“We hope (the field) will continue to benefit our students and community for years to come,” Siddens said.
