Coupeville School District workers are busy replacing the baseball field’s backstop, which was finally torn down after years of degrading.

The backstop was only one symptom of deteriorating facilities brought to the attention of the school board Monday night.

Maintenance and Transportation Director Scott Losey said part of the backstop toppled a couple of weeks ago. Maintenance staff tore down the remainder this week. A combination of wind and kids climbing on the backstop were the reasons it had to be replaced.

“It was in a sad need of repair,” Superintendent Patty Page said after the meeting.

The replacement backstop will be installed next week and it will cost the school district $12,000.

Losey presented the Coupeville School Board with a laundry list of needed repairs throughout the school district.

The track is in need of resurfacing and currently two lanes of the track aren’t usable. High School Principal Sheldon Rosenkrance said one of the lanes has a number of slick spots.

It would cost the district between $100,000 and $300,000 to resurface the track depending on the type of surface that is eventually chosen.

The school district originally planned to have a soccer field and baseball field near the corner of Terry and Ebey roads. However, funding that paid for  the new Coupeville High School ran out before that project could be accomplished.

Losey presented information about the condition of the current buildings.

The school district office building needs a new roof and it continues to be an issue because of snow and water that accumulates. It isn’t exactly clear about the age of the administration building, which is located next to the pedestrian overpass. It was originally a classroom portable the Coupeville School District purchased from the Bellevue School District in 1978.

“I have no idea how old that building actually is,” board member Kathleen Anderson said.

Losey said the multi-purpose room needs new kitchen equipment and a new air handler since it can’t keep up with heating demands during the winter.

There are some peaks and valleys in the roof and occasional water leaks over the school’s administrative offices.

At the middle school, the roof will reach its life expectancy in a couple of years and the building’s HVAC system isn’t functioning at optimal efficiency.

In addition, the high school annex building needs to be remodeled and the tiles in the gym locker rooms need to be fixed.

While officials have a healthy list of projects, they don’t have sufficient money to cover all the costs.

Page said the first priority is to maintain current programs and then staff will see what’s left for repairs.

After the meeting, she did rule out going to local voters for more money in the near future.

“We’re not there yet,” Page said, adding the school district is experiencing declining enrollment and the school district doesn’t need to expand. And while various repairs are needed, the school buildings are in good shape.