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.