June 2007:

Welcome!  The objective of this site is to keep people informed about the progress of a very exciting project in Milford NH.  On March 13, 2007, the voters of Milford supported the renovations of the Athletic Facilities at Milford High School including the construction of Track and Field facilities for the first time in Milford’s history!  The journey of past efforts to construct a track at the high school has been interesting and complicated to say the least. 

In 2000 a committee was formed to review the current conditions and future needs for play fields used by the school district and other residents of Milford. A Town/School Field Study Committee Report was drafted in October 2000. Based on the results of this study and NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) recommendations to build a running track at the high school, a warrant article was placed on the School Ballot in March 2002. It did not pass partially because new lights were installed around the football field the year prior and the voters were not interested in "paying" to have them moved again to accommodate the track. The most cost effective way for a track to be built in a logical space was to move the field, the lights and supporting facilities such as the press box and bleachers and place it around the football field. From 2002 until 2006, the town of Milford had many priorities as far as school space issues and curriculum concerns and there was no organized effort to move forward with this project on a private or school level. The cost was too forbidding.

In October 2006, the Athletic Director at Milford High School received a letter from the NHIAA (New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association) indicating that Milford High School might have to forfeit a home-field playoff game due to the poor condition of the field. This letter was a red flag that attention must be paid to our outdoor athletic facilities. If the field needed to be renovated, then perhaps we could move it to accommodate the track. Research showed that Milford, NH was one of three out of 24 high schools in division I in the state of New Hampshire that did not have an outdoor track.

 After agreeing with the priority to renovate our football field and construct a track, the School Board worked hard to write a warrant article to be included on the 2007 School Ballot. The $4.9M article included much needed work on the interior of the High School, a new roof and soffit at the Bales School and $1.2M worth of work to renovate the High School football field and Middle School field, build a press box, install bleachers, move the existing lights and construct a running track. The project appealed to trustees of the O’Conner Fund and Marchesi Fund as they agreed to donate funds toward the project which made the amount the District was asking the voters to be bonded much more palatable. There was great interest in seeing these building projects come to fruition and the community agreed on March 13, 2007 by passing the vote on the warrant article by 73%!