A contractor will start work in two weeks on an all-weather track for Riverbank High School, which has a history of championship track and field teams.

The Riverbank Unified School District also has a history of serious financial trouble, and not everyone agrees that the $1.8 million price for the synthetic track is a wise expenditure.

The school district fell into deficit spending after the last recession and was teetering on the brink of insolvency a few years ago.

A contract with C.T. Brayton and Sons Inc. to build the new track was approved during a special school board meeting at 6:30 Thursday morning. The cost for the project has increased since district leaders started talking about it last year.

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