Johnston County School officials have not determined what type of facility will be built on the Smithfield Selma High campus to replace the former Field House that was demolished over-the-summer. However, the president of the SSS Athletic Boosters has a suggestion he recently shared with members of the school board.
At their August monthly meeting, SSS Booster President Jay Moore said he has spoken to many people about the need for facility improvements.
Moore said an Auxiliary Multi Use Facility would “bridge the accessibility and use gaps SSS students face with the SRAC (Smithfield Recreation and Aquatics Center).”
He points to surrounding high schools that have facilities for band, dance and sports teams on campus while SSS students are displaced to the AIG gym or parking lots. In some cases the team are forced to cancel practice.
With the recent heat advisory’s he said the band, football and volleyball teams all had to compete to use the gymnasium as practice space. Moore said that while SSS is the epicenter of events for Johnston County Schools it “does not have a Athletic Building that is not shared with the public.”
“I have solicited feedback from current students, school administrators, athletic coaches, band boosters, cheerleaders, community members and former students both in and out of the district, and we all agree that a multi-use facility would be the most prudent expenditure of funds while offering the greatest utility for both the school and the community,” Moore told school board members. “Our vision of the future state is an Auxiliary Multi Use.”
Moore believes such a facility would be ideal at SSS because of its central location and easy access. He says the uses are limitless including classes on sports medicine, dance, coaching clinics, youth sports clinics, and umpiring clinics.
Space would be configured for cheerleading, dance, band/winter guard, baseball, football, golf, soccer, softball, track and wrestling.
A multi use facility would also allow a staging area for games, pregame and halftime meetings, and pregame baseball meetings, Moore said. In addition it could be used for storage of cheerleading and wrestling mats, track and field equipment and grounds equipment.
Community events such as the Relay for Life and Special Olympics would also be better served by a new facility, Moore added.
“The community has stood in line patiently awaiting investment in SSS, and an investment in a multi-functional facility as proposed would allow the school to serve its students and the community as never before,” Moore told board members. “We the stakeholders believe that this type of facility will provide unmatched service to expense ratio for many generations of SSS students, which should make your job of justifying the appropriation funds justifiable. I am invested in SSS, are you?”
