Kids & Family

New Track's on Track for Acton-Boxborough

Residents rallied to raise most of the funds needed to replace the flawed facility, and now the work is set to begin.

With their track cracked and crumbling, a group of residents came together to find a solution: raising three-quarters of the $600,000 needed for a complete renovation of the facility at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School.

After months of fundraisers and appeals, the group has rounded into the homestretch.

This Thursday, Nov. 21, there will be a formal acceptance of the $450,000 in private donations at the Acton School Committee meeting, which will be held at the RJ Grey Library. The renovation project was recently awarded to Quick Construction, and mobilization is expected to begin today, Nov. 18.

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While the track and field area is still open, it is likely to be shut down within the next week or so, with the field re-opening by April 1 for the spring – though the track may not be ready by then.

“The goal is to get as much done over the winter as possible, and we’ll see how far they get,” said John Raguin, a leader of the fundraising group.

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According to Raguin, the hope is to get all the way through to paving the track over the winter, with rubberized layers being added in the spring. If that’s not possible, then the rubberized layers will be added in June, Raguin said.

The schools plan to pitch in $150,000 for the track renovation project, with the other $450,000 coming from more than 300 different donating groups who have given through fundraisers, events and Facebook appeals.

“It was nice to see that in the end we got a good cross section,” said Raguin. “This method is a good way for going about a project like this. Times are tight these days for school budgets. Although athletics are important, they’re not the primary focus of the schools. Our hope was to get the project done faster by using private money.”

According to plans, the project will seek to fix drainage issues, make for flat runways, address holes and issues in the high jump and, if some more money can be raised, could even expand the finishing straightaway from six lanes to eight.

For more on the project or to make a donation, visit https://www.facebook.com/ABTrackProject.


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