ORANGE — The Ralph C. Mahar Regional School’s athletics program is running out of time to replace its playing surface and track lanes.

The rubber-and-sand mixture making up the turf and the track at the James S. Woodward Athletic Complex has another two or three years before it will be considered unsafe and Michele Tontodonato, the school’s director of finance and operations, has said it is time to think about the future. She and Athletic Director Kyle Magoffin attended this month’s Mahar School Committee meeting to detail the options and request a Dec. 12 meeting to further discuss financing once plans become clearer.

“This is a non-debt-issue project we’re looking at, meaning we’re not going out for a loan,” Tontodonato said. “We think we can cover this with school choice [money], grants, [state] Rural Aid, hopefully, when we get that number, and it will not be debt issue.”

She and Magoffin explained that replacing the artificial turf with the same material would cost nearly $2 million while using sod would run $2.2 million, with an additional $160,000 in annual maintenance costs. Tontodonato said the number of games the Senators play would remain the same if turf is used. The material, which contains no per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), is manufactured by FieldTurf, the same company that produced the material used at Gillette Stadium. The expected lifespan is 12 to 14 years, but she is confident it would survive 20, like the current one.

“If we replaced it with sod the number of games on the field would be extremely limited, as the sod will be worn down quicker,” Tontodonato told the School Committee.

The current FieldTurf was laid during a building addition and renovation in 2005, financed through parent and community fundraising. Magoffin said it is the only high school FieldTurf surface in the North Quabbin region and the oldest in existence that is still safe to use. Tontodonato credits the longevity to Mahar’s Athletics Department and its athletic directors.

“Twenty years later it’s still in playable condition, however the safety rating of the field indicates that it may only last another two to three years before being inspected and deemed unsafe to use,” she said. “If it does get deemed unsafe to use, we cannot use it.”

Magoffin said explained that every FieldTurf surface has an impact rating calculated by dropping “a 20-pound torpedo” from 2 feet above the ground at 10 spots on the field to measure “the bounciness of the turf.”

“New turf, generally, scores between 70 to 90. We start our ratings off in the 130s,” he said, adding that 165 is considered unsafe. “So we are certainly showing our age.”

Magoffin said the surface is meant to absorb the impact of falls and the potential for injuries caused by inadequate turf include concussion, shin splints and bruises.

“In a perfect world it’s an inch and three quarters. We’re down to about an inch,” he said. “So that gives you the cushion on the turf. The green fibers that stick up just give you the color.”

Magoffin also said the turf is sinking and creating a gap from the track. He mentioned that most students who responded to a survey indicated they would prefer artifical turf.

Tontodonato explained that the third option is leaving the field and track as is and eventually participating in away games and meets only. She said the Athol High School track and field teams attend only away meets because of their home track’s condition.

She said the playing surface and track are used by Mahar’s physical education classes as well as its football, soccer, field hockey and track and field teams.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.