Jefferson High School’s tennis courts need some help. The pair of courts located on the south side of the school, near the Boulder Community Pool, are cracked, uneven and weather-worn. Three courts across the street (officially, the Glenn Kyler Courts, but commonly referred to as the “city courts”) have also been marred by extensive wear and tear.
In their current state, says Panther tennis coach Eliza McLaughlin, neither court provides a safe playing surface for students. Plans to resurface the courts have been in the works for a long time — and they seemed to be nearing action after JHS received an $80,000 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant in early 2023.
Now, the school is pivoting toward a new strategy. School officials say they expect to pave over the courts next to the school to create additional parking. And they’re eyeing the milling and resurfacing of the city courts, though the timetable for that work has not been set.
This shift came about in part due to parking concerns raised by JHS’ building expansion project, which broke ground this fall and will continue through next summer. The construction has taken over much of the school’s existing parking, at the same time as the student population has increased sharply.
Superintendent Erik Wilkerson said the district hopes to kill two birds with one stone: relieve student parking concerns and develop a suitable place for the tennis team to play. That pointed to improving the Glenn Kyler Courts, which Wilkerson said have better amenities for players.
Those courts also are larger, which “turns resurfacing them into a more expensive and complicated project,” Wilkerson said. To complicate matters, it’s not clear who actually owns the courts: A gift from the Kyler family, they appear to be deeded to Jefferson County. Wilkerson said JHS effectively leases the courts and is responsible for their maintenance.
While painting and asphalt costs associated with the projects will be covered by the ARPA funding, Buster Bullock, owner of Bullock Contracting LLC, has volunteered to donate his time and preparation materials in a show of his long standing support of the school.
But Bullock, like many other contractors, is in a rush to complete other projects before winter — and it’s not clear whether the tennis courts can be fit in. “This is a project that requires a certain amount of free time and money on my end,” Bullock explains. “This would likely be a $100,000 to 150,000 project if bidded out, so it is a big deal — and at this point in the season, it’s necessary for me to complete some other projects first to allow for it to happen.” Another challenge, Bullock explains, lies in locating a piece of equipment needed for the project: a micro miller. Micro milling is a common process used by contractors to rehabilitate pavements by milling off a portion of the surface before constructing a new layer. Micro millers in particular use more teeth than traditional milling techniques to create a smoother surface that can be utilized with no further treatment. According to Bullock, it is a piece of equipment both expensive to source and hard to come by in this area.
With these things in mind, Wilkerson and Bullock alike reassure the project has not been forgotten, and steps will be taken as time permits, while emphasizing their commitment to the project itself. But they’re hesitant to commit to a specific timeline.
As the 2024 season looms, McLaughlin, who has been Jefferson High’s tennis coach since March of 2022, has expressed concern over options for her team, which sent five players to the state tournament last year. “I am grateful plans to redo the courts are in motion,” McLaughlin states. “However, it’s been difficult trying to practice in the meantime. The courts are no longer safe, and the 2024 season will require some creative ideas, such as transporting students somewhere else for practice.” She hopes these conversations can take place beginning in December.
