- April 30, 2025
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Principal Sean Donovan cuts the ribbon.
Photo by Ian SwabySuperintendent of Schools Terry Connor, County Commissioner Joe Neunder, Jon Swift of Jon F. Swift Construction, School Board Member Robyn Marinelli, Jon. F. Swift Construction Vice President Justin Williams, and Principal Sean Donovan applaud the opening of the new track.
Photo by Ian SwabyStaff members Cesar Huertas, Fredy Sepulveda Ramos, and Johan Guerrero gather with 12th grader Nicolo Moschini on the track.
Photo by Ian SwabyOak Park School cut the ribbon on its track and field project.
Courtesy imageAnthony Bowers, a second grader, races on the track.
Photo by Ian SwabyInstructor Marcy Russell walks with 12th grader Jillian Humphreys.
Photo by Ian Swaby12th graders Vinnie Smith and Alex Langham slap hands after circling the tracj.
Photo by Ian SwabyIngrid Rodriguez walks with her daughter Valentina Rodriguez, a second grader, on the track.
Photo by Ian SwabySuperintendent of Schools Terry Connor runs with Sage Robinson of the Kindergarten to second grade classroom.
Photo by Ian SwabyIker Gomez-Jara of the Kindergarten to second grade classroom, instructor Lisbeth Zurita, and Jayden Cook walk together.
Photo by Ian SwabyAfter cutting the ribbon, it didn't take long for students at Oak Park School to fully circle the new athletic track during the school's first event, the Panther Prowl.
"It feels amazing," said Grace Barcelo, a student in the school's structured work program, of seeing the project finally complete.
The new multipurpose, lighted track and field joins the athletic facilities at Oak Park School, which provides educational and therapeutic services to over 300 students with disabilities.
Principal Sean Donovan said nine months ago, the space had simply been an open field with a "very decrepit" softball diamond and ant hills.
However, Sarasota County Schools and Sarasota County Parks entered an interlocal agreement to collaborate on the funding, design, building, and maintenance of the project, which began design in 2023.
The project includes a six-lane, 400-meter rubberized track with one eight-lane straightaway. It also includes a high school-size soccer field with synthetic turf, sideline water, electrical outlets, a soccer scoreboard, soccer poles and netting, new fencing and a new sidewalk.
The project cost $3,951,964, with the county contributing $500,000.
The use of the track will extend beyond school hours, and Donovan notes the plan is to host different walks and 5Ks, and planned to become the primary location for the Angelman Syndrome Foundation's annual walk on May 17.
He said the project will help guide the partnership between the school district and county, which also encompasses projects like the lighted soccer fields at Tatum Ridge Elementary School.
"As our community grows, and gets larger and larger, we're going to have more needs for more schools, so the hope is that we can kind of set the model and set the template for what this partnership between Sarasota County Parks and Sarasota County schools can really look like to make sure that not only the school benefits and the students benefit, but the entire community benefits as well," he said.
