BUCHANAN COMMUNITY SCHOOLS CELEBRATES COMPLETION OF MAJOR FACILITY UPGRADES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BUCHANAN, MI — Buchanan Community Schools is proud to announce the completion of several major facility improvement projects, including a newly renovated track, fully resurfaced tennis courts, and a complete replacement of the auxiliary gymnasium floor at Buchanan High School. The newly revitalized track marks a long-awaited milestone for the district, which was previously unable to host home track meets. Alongside the track, the district renovated its tennis courts with resurfacing, freshly painted lines, new nets, updated signage, and adaptable equipment to accommodate the growing popularity of pickleball.
Both the track and tennis court projects were completed by the same contractor for a total cost of approximately $482,114. The district extends its sincere gratitude to the school board for approving the projects, as well as to the generous community donors who made them possible:
Track Donation: Special thanks to Jeremy Frame for helping connect the district with an anonymous donor who provided a transformative $100,000 donation for the track project.
Tennis Court & Storage Shed Support: Sincere appreciation goes to Steve & Amy Bender, the Tennis Boosters and the anonymous donors who helped fund the tennis courts project and the new tennis storage shed. Special thanks to Orville for his hard work and assistance in building the tennis storage shed.
Wind Screens & Tennis Enhancements: Grateful recognition to an anonymous donor who contributed $25,000 specifically for new tennis court wind screens and additional track & field supplies.
Local community partners, dedicated staff, and individuals played a vital role in restoring and enhancing the athletic grounds:
Mike Cornelius and Jake Aalfs from our maintenance team for their hands-on work assisting with sign installation and ensuring contractors had seamless access to all necessary areas and utilities throughout the projects.
Corey Kamp for fixing the tennis ball machines and installing the necessary electrical service to run them.
HEIN Electric for repairing and updating the court lighting, making the courts usable once again for night play.
RedBud Services for assisting with cleanup following the track and court renovations.
Carl Woodrich for designing and creating the new signage at the tennis courts.
Special recognition also goes to Facilities Supervisor David Short and Athletics Coordinator Reid McBeth for their dedicated oversight during the revitalization process.
In addition to the outdoor athletic improvements, the Buchanan High School auxiliary gym floor has been fully replaced following an incident last spring. A faulty custodial machine caught fire and smoldered inside a storage closet, triggering the fire sprinkler system. While the sprinklers successfully contained the fire, the resulting water flooded and ruined the original gym floor. The replacement project, quoted at $250,812.50, was fully covered by insurance.
Both the track and tennis/pickleball courts are officially open for public use whenever students are not utilizing them for practices or sporting events.
The track & field program continues to do amazing things and is currently accepting donations for new equipment for the upcoming season. The district would like to extend a special thank you for two generous grants received from the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation:
A $20,000 grant awarded toward the costs of tennis court net posts.
A $4,975.95 grant awarded specifically for a new track discus cage.
The district also thanks C&S Machine for their support.
Supporting Buchanan Community Schools Anyone looking to contribute to our programs is encouraged to reach out to Superintendent, Patricia Robinson at probinson@buchananschools.com or 269-695-8401.
"We are immensely grateful to everyone who helped bring these large-scale projects to fruition and to all those who donated," said district leadership. "We are thrilled to share these enhanced facilities with our local community and hope to see families and friends out here enjoying them together!"
