Tempers flared during Monday’s School Board meeting as the
less-than-perfect condition of the Live Oak High football field was
brought to trustees’ attention during the public comment section of
the meeting.
Tempers flared during Monday’s School Board meeting as the less-than-perfect condition of the Live Oak High football field was brought to trustees’ attention during the public comment section of the meeting.
The issue was not on the agenda for the meeting.
“I was told at 10 a.m. that the field was not safe for play this week, but that it would be safe for play by the following week, Homecoming,” Live Oak Varsity Football Coach Glen Webb told trustees. “This has nothing to do with player safety. This has everything to do with an administrative major league screw-up.”
Live Oak football games scheduled tonight were moved to Saturday at Gilroy High.
The field, which was re-sodded as part of the improvements to the field and the all-weather track at a cost of more than $400,00, has deteriorated, with large brown areas where the grass has died, holes where clumps of the turf has come up and areas where the grass has obviously not taken root through the sod to the ground beneath.
According to Webb, the new field is landscaping grass, instead of playing field sod, which takes a year to root. He said the district was claiming “overuse by overzealous coaches who got on the field too soon.”
The reality, Webb said, is that the field had only been used one-tenth as much as it would in a normal year by this time.
Webb wasn’t the only one to speak out about the field Monday.
Morgan Hill Pop Warner Football and Cheer Rich Phillips told trustees his organization had had a $15,000 revenue loss to date because they are unable to hold home games on Richert Field.
Phillips told the board he had three points of concern. The first was the condition of the field and the lost revenue in addition to having to pay for another facility. His second concern was the lack of advance notification. The third issue he brought up was that the organization would like the district to consider letting Pop Warner develop the Britton field for its use and the use of other sports groups.
Webb told district administrators he wanted them to “stop passing the buck and blaming others.” He mentioned other problems with high school renovations, including pool covers that don’t fit the new pool, pool lights and a chlorination system that he said doesn’t work and basketball goals in the new practice gym that don’t come down.
“If the field is unsafe, declare it so,” he said. “Don’t ask me to put my players on it (for Homecoming) if it is not.”
Trustee Shelle Thomas asked Board President Tom Kinoshita after Webb finished speaking if there would be a time during the meeting when board members would be addressing these concerns. Kinoshita replied, “No, not really.”
Trustees do not comment on items not on the agenda.
Superintendent Carolyn McKennan asked Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Branco to give the board a report on what was happening with the field. Branco said the insurance company went out to the field Monday afternoon to see if it was safe.
Bob Turk, a district employee, also went along, she said, and the field was declared unsafe.
