By Kathryn Reed

South Lake Tahoe and Lake Tahoe Unified School District officials are meeting this morning to figure out how the ball fields in the community will be managed.

The district owns most of them and the city maintains most of them. In the past the Community Athletic Coordinating Council has collected the fees. That practice has ended.

City Manager Nancy Kerry told Lake Tahoe News that not all of the money for field use was collected this year and that staff is tracking down those dollars. She does not believe any illegal or unethical activity occurred, but that it was bad management.

She believes it should be the city or school district collecting the money.

South Tahoe High's softball field's expense keeps rising. Photo/LTN file

Another item to be discussed today is scheduling. In the past the city had done this.

Kerry said the former head of recreation had spoken with the superintendent of the district about LTUSD taking over scheduling and that both sides had agreed to that.

“Part of the meeting is to clarify roles,” LTUSD CFO Deb Yates told her board.

Superintendent Jim Tarwater said CACC would be taking on an advisory role.

Kerry said an issue is that “most of the members of CACC have their own special reason to be in the group.”

Chuck Leonard, who is chair of the CACC, also is chair of the Measure R ball fields committee.

Measure R dollars were part of the school board’s discussion on Aug. 7. The district is going to ask for $59,800 from Measure R funds for South Tahoe High School’s softball field. At the meting they agreed to take another $44,5000 out of special reserves for that field, too. This is in addition to the $160,557 the board approved June 12.

The Office of Civil Rights still needs to give its blessing of the proposed improvements in relation to how they comply with equality issues. Americans with Disabilities Act, Title IX and state law have all played a role in this much-maligned field that has come under scrutiny from a variety of entities.