Debris prompts Watson school field closure

The field at Watson Elementary School has been closed after parents complained that they were finding chunks of brick and asphalt on the field.

Watson parents gathered at the Board of Education meeting on April 6 and demanded that trustees take action to correct the problem, which they said was endangering the children who use the field every day — though no injuries have been reported.

According to parents, the problems started last November, when they began finding debris pushing its way up through the grass. It was left over from construction that took place at Watson over the summer. Part of the field had to be torn up during the work and then resodded. During construction, part of the field was covered by a temporary asphalt walkway. Officials believe it is chunks of the walkway that were left behind that are currently causing problems.

“I can only speculate at this point,” said Superintendent Dr. William Johnson. “I just know that it appears to be below the surface, about an inch or two or three. And as the winter unfolded and the freeze came and wet, it pushed some of that debris to the surface and it’s now emerging on the field.”

In their defense, district officials said that many people had walked on the field since it was finished, and found no debris. Because it appears sporadically, they said, it is impossible to predict when it might pop up.

“This has been a process of trying to find out exactly what happened,” said Assistant Superintendent of Business Robert Bartels.

“The board is not going to take a chance,” Johnson said of the decision to close the field. “If there’s any chance someone would be hurt, we’ll close the field.”

Bartels has been in touch with the contractor that did the work at Watson, and said that workers would have to tear up the field and till the dirt to make sure there’s no more debris before regrading and resodding once more. That, however, will most likely mean keeping a portion of the field closed for the rest of the school year.

“I don’t know how long it will be closed,” Johnson said. “I’d be hard pressed to think that you could do the renovation work on the field and get it back in playing condition within a few weeks. I’m not sure anyone wants to play on a muddy field.”