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Janesville high schools look at public use of new gymnasiums

JANESVILLE — Janesville high schools likely will open up their new gymnasiums' tracks to runners and walkers next fall, winter and next spring.

The new gymnasiums feature stripes on the rubberized floor that mark 150-meter tracks.

Craig High School Principal Mike Kuehne has proposed opening the Craig track to "senior adult walking" for district residents early mornings from November through March.

Parker High School will do something similar, although details have yet to be worked out, said Principal Steve Schroeder.

In advance of the 2006 referendum that made the new gyms possible, school board members said they wanted to make the gyms available for public use.

Key for both principals is someone to supervise the facility and working out who would pay for that.

The Craig gym likely would be open from 6 to 7 a.m.

Kuehne said that, for the moment, the "strength and conditioning room" next to the gym would not be open to the public, although that's something to consider.

"We don't want to do it before we know what our own needs are," Kuehne said.

Parker has a similar room, which includes weights and conditioning machines.

Evening hours are not possible because those are taken up by student activities, Kuehne said.

Parker has not yet made any plans, but it will, Schroeder said.

"We're trying to figure out what our students' needs are, first of all—how do we make sure our students have optimal use of our facility," Schroeder said.

"This is definitely something we want to do. It's just a matter of getting a workable plan together to get it done," Schroeder said.

The Parker gym has been in use for about three weeks. The Craig gym's concrete has taken longer to cure, so flooring probably wont be laid until sometime in June, Kuehne said.

Both schools' conditioning rooms are now in use.