Though Danny Horelik ’12 plays for varsity football on a field quite different from the one on which uncle – and former Staples student and professional football quarterback – Skip Lane played, Horelik gets ready for gym class in a facility that is nearly the same.

This is because according to athletic director, Marty Lisevick, it is likely that the boys’ locker room has not been worked on since the 1970s. “It’s been that long,” he said.

The distinction between the boys’ and girls’ locker rooms seems to be recognized by all students, as the girls’ facility was enhanced in the last renovation.

Sam Boas ’12, who says that none of his friends use the locker room on a regular basis, also compares its odor to that of a hypothetical child of “Axe and garbage.”

“It’s no wonder we change in the bathrooms,” Jon Wormser ’12, in agreement with Boas’ statements, said. “And I don’t [even] use the locks – I prefer to just get in and get out.”

But while most boys have been vocal about their facility’s poor state, it seems that the majority of female students seem content with their changing space. “They’re clean, they don’t smell, and there’s never trash,” Zoe Greenblatt ’12 said. “But I’m still scared to put my feet on the floor.”

According to physical education teacher Marce Petroccio, the girls’ locker room was renovated years ago when the entire building was renovated. He also says that the boys’ locker rooms have not been changed in the 18 years he’s been employed at Staples.

“The place could definitely use some sprucing up,” Petroccio said. “Guys are not going to want to get changed for [physical education] in a place that is sub-par at best.”

In a June 2004 note posted on the Staples website, then–principal John Brady wrote that “renovations in the boy’s and girl’s [sic] locker rooms…will begin in November and continue through the summer.”

But the boys’ locker room was never renovated in the 2004-05 season. Athletic director Marty Lisevick attributes this simply to budget restraints.

“When we did the high school renovation, [both locker rooms] were scheduled to be done then, but money from the budget got taken out on the boys’ side,” Lisevick said. “The idea was that the district would do a capital improvement through the maintenance budget, and we’re still waiting on that.”

In regards to the prospect of plans to renovate the boys’ facility in the future, Gusitsch agrees that it is a fiscal matter. “We’ve had discussions, but it really boils down to money,” he said. “We’re not in really good budget times right now. It’s not ideal, but it’s still a functional space.”

Lisevick hopes that the situation in the boys’ locker room will be the first to be worked on, but he also believes that the facility, as a whole, will be renovated “fairly soon.” After having shown the facility to superintendent Elliott Landon, along with members of the Board of Education, Lisevick says that they are definitely aware of the situation.

And as for the expressed interest from students in the improvement of facilities, Gusitsch views this with a positive outlook.

“Kids are sweating in class, which means they’re putting forth effort. I don’t blame them for wanting a place to freshen up and get ready for the rest of their school days.”