After serving the community for over 30 years, the weight room will close on June 30 due to recent budget cuts. Although the weight room has been open year-round after school and on Saturdays mornings, it will now only be available for student use during school hours. According to Superintendent Jonathon Lewis, changes are necessary to accommodate the new budget, however, he is looking at options to keep the weight room open.

            “It is likely that there will be significant changes in that program next year given the loss of funding,” Lewis said. “We are currently looking at alternative ways to fund the operation of the three high school weight rooms, and I will be meeting with the high school principals early in June to seek a solution. It is likely that an increase in student fees will be used to generate additional funds.”

            Over the years, the weight room has served various members of the community, from student-athletes to adults.

            “It’s meant so much to the community to have that facility,” said social studies teacher Lou-Ann Spear, who works out frequently in the weight room. “I’m really upset that it’s closing. I was in there last week, and there were people in their 60s and 70s who were talking about how they’ve been working out in the weight room for 20 years.”

            The weight room was first established by strength coach Jim Pulchine. At first, Pulchine brought in his own equipment and weights and opened the facility to the public in the 1980s, creating a program for adults to work out for a nominal fee.

            “It has been the lynch pin of [Pulchine’s] life for the last 30 years,” art teacher Charlene Root said. “He was the driving force behind the weight room. I think he recognizes he may retire soon, and he’d rather see the weight room go on under someone else than be deemed a program to be trimmed back. It’s certainly a disappointment to a lot of people.”

            Used widely by the community for decades, adults could purchase a $50 gym membership for 10 weeks. According to alumna Karen Richardson (2011), the weight room has been a community within a community.

            “There are people who have been coming here for years,” Richardson said. “There isn’t a person who comes through the weight room that Pulchine doesn’t know. You don’t get that anywhere else.”

            Over the years, Pulchine has seen how important the weight room has become to many students.

            “I’ve seen kids who were third-stringers come in the weight room over the summer and after school to work for that starting position,” Pulchine said. “They end up fighting the first stringer for that position. It’s a means for teams to prepare for upcoming seasons, and it gives non-athletes an opportunity to come in and work out.”

            While students will be able use the weight room if enrolled in a lifting or advanced physical education course, the elimination of after school hours impacts students and athletes who need access outside of classes.

            “I feel really sad that it’s closing because I like working out. It’s fun and it gives me something to do,” senior Jeremiah Yazon said. “I don’t want to pay and be forced to go to Gold’s [Gym] or Old Town Athletic Club to stay in shape.”

            While widely used by students and teachers, sports teams also condition and prepare for upcoming seasons, using the weight room in the mornings and after school.

            “It will adversely affect the football team,” head coach Jamie Carter said. “You can’t field a successful team without working out and lifting and becoming stronger. We’d have to do push ups and flip tires to keep in shape.”

            According to Carter, closing the weight room not only eliminates the possibility for a competitive team, but also damages the community.

            “How can you have pride in your county and schools if you won’t give the teams representing them the right tools to compete?” Carter asked. “I don’t see how anyone can sit there and cut programs like this and think they’re helping kids.”

            Alumna Caitlin Palmer (2011), who took several of Pulchine’s strength classes, is one of many who are upset by the closing.

            “I think the weight room is being closed for the wrong reasons,” Palmer said. “They’re closing it for spending money while there are different options than shutting it down. I know some people would volunteer to supervise students.”

            For Palmer, the weight room has been more than a room full of sweaty bodies and noisy equipment.

            “For myself and a lot of other people, it’s like a classroom – it’s like shutting down English class,” Palmer said. “I’ve learned so much in the weight room – not just about lifting, but about life, and pushing the limit and not giving up and things like that. Pulchine was one of the best teachers I’ve had in my entire life.”

            An online petition has been created and has over 1200 signatures, as well as a Facebook group to help spread the word and encourage the public to call and write letters to School Board members.

            “It’s a travesty to the students and student athletes of Fauquier County to close the weight room,” Pulchine said. “Our own governor is promoting more sports, especially in middle school, and those students involved in sports have better attendance, better grades, and less behavioral issues than students not involved in sports. It’s an undeniable fact that it’s beneficial.”

            According to Pulchine, the closing of the weight room will affect students more than anyone else.

            “There are 30 to 75 kids after school any given day, and you want to put a price on them? That’s absurd,” Pulchine said. “Everyone is always saying to do more for the kids, but the adult program pays for itself. They’re taking this away from the kids, and that’s the hardest thing to swallow about all of this.”