The Knoxville School Board met in a regular session Monday night. The Board approved the recommendation from the Facilities Task Force on the allocation of 2.5 million dollars for athletic facilities. Kevin Kincaid from the Task Force presented to the board the recommendation that all of the money should be spent to upgrade Randy Wilson Track, with no funds from this sum being directed to improvements at Ken Locke Stadium. The Task Force looked at many factors to make their decision, including how much it would cost to upgrade Ken Locke Stadium and Randy Wilson Track to a fully modernized facility. Kincaid said, based on a 2018 estimate to upgrade Ken Locke Stadium, it would cost 6.9 million dollars, and to upgrade Randy Wilson track would be closer to 3.1 million, based on a 2021 estimate. Kincaid also said that a statistic that had a huge impact on their decision was that last year only 1,174 kids participated in events at Ken Locke Stadium over 12 events, while 13,425 students participated at Randy Wilson Track over 355 events. 

The Task Force recommended not only using the funds for improvements at Randy Wilson Track, but also to form a Ken Locke Stadium Group, with the intent to preserve the stadium. The group will include representatives from the Alumni Association/S.O.S group, the City of Knoxville, the Marion County Historical Society, and the Knoxville Community School District. The group will look to create a long-term plan for the preservation of the stadium. 

Prior to the vote, several community members spoke against the recommendation including Craig Agan with the Marion County Historical Society who shared a document that said, “In keeping with our mission to preserve the historical integrity of designated landmarks within Marion County, Iowa, the board of directors of the Marion County Historical Society voted unanimously to respectfully ask the Knoxville School Board not to accept the recommendation of the Task Force in regard to Ken Locke Stadium as written.” 

The Board approved a proposal for part-time employee insurance benefits. The proposal would have the district pay 50% of the monthly premiums with the other 50% to be paid by the employees. The board also approved a sharing agreement for the Transportation Director with Pleasantville Schools and a sharing agreement for the Transportation Mechanic with Pleasantville Schools. The board approved the modification to the Transportation Mechanic contract, and a request to purchase new furniture and equipment for the band and choir classrooms in the new Middle School, among other items.

For the full recomendation from the Task Force click here