Difference in fields called ‘discriminatory’
Jeff Benson and Deepa Bharath
The stunning differences between the upkeep of school fields in Costa
Mesa and Newport Beach is discriminatory and yet another problem with
the school district’s agreement with Costa Mesa governing the fields’
use, a parent charged in his complaint to the U.S. Department of
Education’s Office for Civil Rights this week.
Mark Gleason, president of Estancia High’s girls’ soccer boosters,
called the differences “clearly discriminatory.”
“The result is obvious,” he said at Tuesday’s Newport-Mesa Unified
School Board meeting. “The facilities have been neglected and nothing
was defined in that [joint use agreement] other than maintenance. It
has people mow the lawn, and that’s all it does.”
The charges leveled by Gleason are the latest twist in the debate
about the district and Costa Mesa’s so-called “joint-use agreement”
governing the use and maintenance of athletic fields.
In place more than a decade, the agreement dictates that any high
school, community group or league secure a permit from the city to
use a field. Joined with the joint-use agreement is another document
called the Field Allocation Policy, which spells out how fields are
allotted and the rules governing allotments.
Estancia’s soccer and baseball fields look battered and bruised
and even present dangerous conditions such as deep ruts and holes,
Gleason said on Friday.
“Bleachers and benches are broken to bits in some cases, and
others are rusted and falling apart,” he said. “The baseball fields
are overgrown with weeds.”
On the other hand, Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor high schools
have pristine fields, Gleason said.
“The district is shortchanging the predominantly minority
population in schools like Estancia and paying attention to the
predominantly white schools in Newport Beach,” he said.
That is a “ludicrous” allegation, said Jaime Castellanos,
assistant superintendent for secondary education.
Castellanos said he walked the fields with the principals of the
Costa Mesa schools after Tuesday’s board meeting and found nothing
there that may be hazardous to students.
“The fields do need some cosmetic work,” he said.
There was one fiber glass bleacher at Costa Mesa High School that
was broken, which will be replaced within a few days, Castellanos
said.
He attributed the difference between Costa Mesa and Newport fields
to staffing issues in the respective city schools.
“Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor High have had the same coaches
for years and years,” Castellanos said. “But there’s more turnover
with coaches in Costa Mesa schools. So there’s more of a consistency
and pride in the facilities with Newport.”
Gleason pointed out that the school district’s discriminatory
stance on this issue was embodied in the fact that it has two
different agreements with Costa Mesa and Newport Beach respectively.
Castellanos said the difference in agreements was prompted by the
two cities’ different requirements.
“The field use in Costa Mesa is simply tremendous, which is not
the case in Newport Beach,” he said. “The joint-use agreement with
Costa Mesa was needed because we had to facilitate a permit process
to ensure that the fields are not misused.”
School Board President Dana Black, who was the sole board member
who addressed the issue at Tuesday’s meeting, said Costa Mesa’s
schools should be entitled to similar athletic fields. But the
district must find additional money to afford them, she said.
However, fixing the fields was not one of the top priorities for
voters on the Measure A plan, Black said.
“But we will have a plan for the fields right after we are done
with the Measure A improvements,” she said of the $110-million school
bond measure passed in June 2000. “Classrooms and other direct
requirements take precedence over the fields.”
To compare the well-heeled community in Newport Beach to Costa
Mesa is not fair, Black said. The fields in Corona del Mar and
Newport Harbor high schools look good because either parents found
resources to fund those improvements, or they did it themselves, she
said.
“When my sons were at Newport Harbor, we simply rolled up our
sleeves and went to work,” Black said. “Because as far as the school
district is concerned, all schools are equal. If you look at our
funds, it’s equal across the board.”
At Tuesday night’s meeting, other Estancia High boosters also
complained that funds from the district’s joint-use agreement with
Costa Mesa weren’t being used to maintain and upgrade the city’s
school fields. According to the 2002 version of the agreement, the
city and the district split the cost of maintenance and upgrades to
district facilities, including fields, that the city also uses for
community recreational programs.
The boosters compared Costa Mesa’s fields to those of several
schools in the district that aren’t part of the joint-use agreement,
such as Corona del Mar High School. Estancia High baseball Booster
Club President Dan Oliver pointed out that Corona del Mar has
pristine fields, new fences and properly-trimmed grass, saying it’s
because it’s a wealthier demographic and the booster clubs were able
to raise more money to make repairs.
Oliver then showed the school board a handful of slides picturing
rickety wooden junior varsity baseball bleachers at Estancia,
overgrown grass on the Davis Elementary track and rusted fences at
several schools.
“Right now, safety is an issue,” Oliver said. “If you’re a student
athlete, you’re going 100% in a game. And if you step in a hole or
run through a gate that’s rusted, you’ll know it’s unsafe at Estancia
High School.”
Supt. Robert Barbot said at the meeting field repairs don’t
qualify as part of its Measure A plan, but he added the district will
look to its own funds, the general fund and community support, and
hopes to provide solutions at the district’s Oct. 26 board meeting.
“This needs attention, and we need time to work with people,”
Barbot said. “Our hope and desire is to raise the quality of the
fields and to find a way to maintain them.”
But Gleason maintains that Measure A is simply an excuse district
officials are making to stall the issue.
“The fields are yards away from the classrooms,” he said. “That
work is not going to affect the work on the fields.”
Tom Antal, principal of Estancia High School, said he doesn’t
believe that filing a complaint against the school district to a
federal department helps resolve the issue.
“Coming to a board meeting and complaining about it, doesn’t solve
the problem,” he said. “The district is very serious about this
issue. We need to work together with the district to do some
problem-solving.”
* JEFF BENSON is the news assistant and may be reached at (949)
574-4298 or by e-mail at jeff.benson@latimes.com.
* DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.
She may be reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at
deepa.bharath@latimes.com.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.