To the Editor:
Nantucket Public Schools is one of the most unique school districts in the commonwealth. We are located 30 miles out to sea and are often referred to as a “bit different,” in more ways than one. Our student population is one of the most diverse around, and we should be proud of what we offer to our students, both academically as well as extracurricularly.
To reference what we offer our students after the school day ends needs to be discussed. Being an athletic director on an island definitely has its challenges, but it should be known that these challenges are ones that are met head-on regularly, with the best interests of our students in the forefront of our minds at all times.
The current phase of the Campus Wide Master Plan is in full swing. This phase includes five tennis courts, a new natural-grass varsity baseball field, two synthetic multi-use turf fields, as well as a 400-meter track. You may ask why these are needed. My answer is simply that our athletic programs are growing at such a rapid rate and our fields are deteriorating due to gross overuse.
The addition of the proposed fields and tennis courts will bring new energy and life to our athletic programs. They will also give new opportunities to students, as well as community members, that we have never seen before. A new track would give us the ability to offer a track and field team, a program that hasn’t been around for decades. The new synthetic turf fields will be able to sustain the wear and tear that our current fields can’t, and they will allow for scheduling flexibility that we have never seen before.
The Campus Wide Master Plan Committee has done extensive work over the past years with regard to this phase and can confidently say that what is being proposed will be safe for all of our students and Nantucket community. With larger town projects on the horizon, the time is now to get the athletic phase done for the benefit of our entire community. As a longtime Nantucketer (a native to be exact) and as a parent of three children in our district, it should be known that all I want to do is what is best for the children and community of Nantucket. What is in front of us is something that is long overdue. We are at a time where we need to put our differences aside and come together as one for the betterment of our children.
Travis Lombardi
Director of Athletics Nantucket Public Schools
