Opinion: LTUSD condones trashing tennis courts
By Kathryn Reed
Football is king. That’s nothing new. It’s just sad all the lies that go into making it a reality.
The latest lie is how Lake Tahoe Unified School District officials profess to care so much about the tennis courts at South Tahoe High School. Ever since those courts were rebuilt a few years ago it has been a nightmare to be able to play on them.
Superintendent Jim Tarwater claims he wants to keep the courts pristine. He doesn’t want riffraff coming in and ruining the courts. That’s why they are always locked, he has repeatedly said.
It cost about $350,000 to build what at the time were essentially six new courts. While the project wasn’t originally part of the Measure G facilities bond, a line in the contractors’ contract made it logical to repave the courts. The contract said if the workers could not park at STHS, they would be paid an additional 15 minutes at the start and end of their day to compensate for the time to get to the work site. This was going to add about $400,000 to the nearly $25 million project going on at that time.
The district decided it would be more prudent in terms of time and money to have the workers use the tennis courts as a staging area, lose access to them for a season and then have them rebuilt.
The use of these courts has been contentious and controversial since they were resurfaced.
South Tahoe High’s tennis courts are being used for housing for a multi-day football camp. Photo/Kathryn Reed
Tennis players are the first ones to want the courts to remain in good condition. But maybe it doesn’t matter since we aren’t allowed to play on them for more than 16 hours this summer.
What is galling is the duplicity of school district officials. Or maybe it shouldn’t be surprising if one looks at the sports the children of these decision-makers play.
Tarwater did not return a phone call, nor did STHS Athletic Director Tony Sunzeri nor school board President Barbara Bannar.
The courts were covered with tents last weekend. Boys attending a football camp were sleeping there. They were sleeping in the school. They were all over campus.
Several tents remained as a group of tennis players got to the courts Monday. The boys walked on the courts in their cleats. There are signs that say “Tennis Shoes Only”. It is these types of shoes that can ruin the surface of tennis courts. Apparently rules don’t apply to football players.
Chicks with Sticks, of which I’m a member, is a group of friends paying Lake Tahoe Unified School District $300 to use the courts for one day a week for eight weeks. Members of this group are the only ones allowed to use the tennis courts at South Tahoe High School this summer, according to LTUSD.
Why the public can’t use the courts for their intended purpose and football players can muck them up is beyond me.
It took the organizers of Chicks with Sticks more than 16 hours to secure a deal with LTUSD. Sixteen hours is about all the courts will be used – at least for tennis.
The fact that the school district clearly has no policy for how the courts get used, allowed a now retired secretary to make decisions above her pay grade, and gave the organizers the run around is a horrendous way to do business. Tennis could be big business in this town, and on the entire South Shore. One only has to look at what the nonprofit Zephyr Cove Tennis Club Foundation, which is in its second year, has done, to see what a well-run public facility looks like. (ZCTCF operates the six courts owned by Douglas County.)
It is inexcusable that the district says no to tennis at STHS except for eight days this summer, but yes to football players.
The courts are a mess. There is garbage flying around. Trash cans are outside the court, none inside. There is debris – like wood chips – that makes turning an ankle highly likely. Sand in the back of a court is dangerous. (Now I know why each player had to sign a liability form.) A bench is broken and lying in disrepair. A rolling ladder had to be moved so players wouldn’t run into it.
It’s incredibly sad to see my tax dollars being so misused. It’s sad to see tennis courts be locked so people can’t play on them. It’s sad to see football players be allowed to use them to sleep on, and even more horrendous to hear the click-clack of their cleats on these fairly young courts.
The fact that these boys wouldn’t listen to anyone explain how walking onto the court while we were playing was bad etiquette shouldn’t have surprised us. They had already trashed the courts and were continuing to do so in their cleats. And apparently all of this is OK with LTUSD officials, because, well, football is king.
“The Mohs scale of mineral hardness is a qualitative ordinal scale that characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer material.”
Maybe the ban on cleats is to protect the person wearing the cleats.
Looks like the taxpayers have been fleeced once again.
Really? Sorry but this isn’t news. This is a biased rant. STHS is and should be about our communities children. Facilities are not intended for adults, get over it.
Years ago I used to play tennis, but gave it up because the courts at the middle school were in total disrepair and access to other facilities was beyond challenging.
It is maddening to see the photo of the courts being used to pitch tents for football. And cleats allowed on the surface – outrageous!
This community seems to have a problem with using its recreational facilities for the intended purpose. The soccer field at the College is being used as a music venue to the detriment of the field and the surrounding neighborhoods, and now these tennis courts can’t be used for tennis, but can serve as a campsite for football players. What is wrong with this picture?
The courts at the high school need to be protected, maintained, and made available to the public. We paid for them, and should be able to use them.
The school board needs to come up with a policy that allows public use and protects the quality and lifespan of this public recreation asset.
I wouldn’t expect anything less of our school district. Saying one thing but when it comes there own personal needs they do what they want. They told you that our schools needed measure G. The say the schools are falling apart and we need to get the children out of portables into regular classrooms. What did the money do? It built the High School a recording studio that rivals studios in Hollywood. It built a Student Union building that the students only get to use at lunch time. The rest of the time it is used for meetings of outside agencies (some of the football camp kids were sleeping in the conference rooms also). Did the High School really need a Sports Medical facility? Shouldn’t that be something that our local college should have? It seems that most of the money went to the High School and not that much to the rest of the schools. Why is that? Students are still using portables at Bijou, Sierra House, Tahoe valley and the Middle school. Get ready for the school district to ask for more money as there are rumors of re-opening Al Tahoe Elementary in the near future and a sports complex at the college in partnership with the city and college. The Superintendent said that if we build a state of the art High School that people will move here with their children and it will help the economy here in Tahoe. Lets see the numbers. Yes football is King at our school district. Just look at the new bleachers being installed and the lights that have been put in. How long did it take to get restrooms for the girls softball team? And by the way the football camp tents were moved to the softball field and off the tennis courts. Now the softball field will get aerated by the football players cleats.
I’m not sure why you seem to think that our high school courts should be open for adults at all, or why there would be anyone available to clean them for you during the summer. Seems like they went out of their way to accommodate your group, and you are too lazy/entitled to even bring a broom with you to sweep your own court.
For those who don’t think adults should be on the courts, do you think they should be maintained for the high school team and not trashed? That seems like the bigger issue.
And another question for those who don’t think the courts should be used by adults: Does that mean you are against the adult softball and baseball teams using school district fields?
If we are going to ban adults from using school district facilities, then it has to be equitable across the board.
I don’t understand why kids and adults would be banned at anytime from using public facilities other than for when school is in session.
Remember this next time they come begging for money with new taxes or bond measures.
Your disdain for LTUSD and its staff rears its head again. LTUSD is in the midst of huge staff turn over. Your 16 hours negotiating space has more to do with staff issues than tennis, but by all means make it personal – because that is helpful.
Please keep the following things in mind before making judgments
1) 90% of LTUSD staff is off during the summer. NONE of the facilities at STHS, STMS, or the elementary schools are unlocked and open to the public. You must make a reservation and the on-staff custodian will unlock for you.
2) The football coach / staff made reservations and secured space to raise money for their program. The outside kids coming in for those camps needed housing and its very difficult to work with the local hotels/motels to secure decent rates and travel to and from STHS.
3) There is currently no tennis coach or staff member to run, monitor, or staff the tennis courts. Over the last two summers there was FREE community hours once a day and half days on Saturdays/Sundays. There was also an opportunity to purchase playing time at $5/hr outside of free community time. This summer due to staff turn over and loss of supervision that program has not happened. Where was the glowing article of LTUSD’s generosity? Oh wait, you would rather complain.
4) School sports and youth programs come before adult rec leagues on any school site.
5) The real issue is that the CITY and LTUSD have a signed agreement since the 70s that said the CITY would maintain the tennis courts at STMS. They have neglected them and refused to repair them. Those courts are in horrible condition because the CITY did not live up to its end of the deal and those PUBLIC courts are not usable.
Instead of lashing out at LTUSD, why not ask the City why they are walking away from THEIR responsibility to run youth and adult rec sports programs and instead spend money on drug fueled events that bring in rif raf that destroy our beaches. They could instead be partnering with LTUSD and LTCC to make this a sports / tournament destination in the summer for soccer, softball, baseball, and football. The revenue and interest is staggering.
I wanted to repost this section because I agree with it wholeheartedly. That is the real issue with our community or loss of community as we have all come to know. We were a community first and then became a destination resort. We have effectively pushed out our middle class and families simply cannot afford to live here. We have hotels at Stateline and Hotels in our neighborhoods. If I bought my house near an airport I would expect noise. If I bought my house in a quiet residential neighborhood I would expect it to remain residential. If I elect our council to look out for the residents I would expect them to look out for us, the community and not the privileged few who are more than willing to sell us out and leave us holding the mess.
5) The real issue is that the CITY and LTUSD have a signed agreement since the 70s that said the CITY would maintain the tennis courts at STMS. They have neglected them and refused to repair them. Those courts are in horrible condition because the CITY did not live up to its end of the deal and those PUBLIC courts are not usable.
Instead of lashing out at LTUSD, why not ask the City why they are walking away from THEIR responsibility to run youth and adult rec sports programs and instead spend money on drug fueled events that bring in rif raf that destroy our beaches. They could instead be partnering with LTUSD and LTCC to make this a sports / tournament destination in the summer for soccer, softball, baseball, and football. The revenue and interest is staggering.
The tennis courts at the high school should be available for the community, including adults, to play tennis.
Bravo Kenny. Once again, a respectful and thoughtful post, inspiring action, versus negative insults and complaining.
Hold the parties who are to be responsible accountable. Peace.
Our City Manager Nancy Kerry has commented here on LTN about issues like this- what does she think about this?
Let’s go to the top as far as decision makers-as opposed to LTUSD secretaries-trying to do their best I’m sure but let’s get something done for All of our citizens and taxpayers
This “article” is hilarious. Entitled whiner wants to be catered to. #firstworldproblems #tarwaterrocks
Kae Reed often uses her LTN podium to rant about personal slights. Remember the ones about her straying off on Conservancy land adjacent to her house? Like it was somebody else’s fault she didn’t know what she owned.
That being said, and aside from the fact that the article reads like it was wine fueled, she does bring up some interesting questions.
Kenny Curtzwiler however, did the best analysis and the best job of putting a finer point on this situation. I may not always agree with Kenny’s comments, but the fact is, he usually has his facts straight.
I will be interested in a city response to the middle school tennis courts agreement. No matter what city administration agreed to this, the agreement did not likely disappear with the disappearance of the earlier administration.
I have lived in more than half a dozen cities and counties and 4 states, and I have never seen a situation where many outdoor public school facilities were not available for citizens to shoot hoops, play tennis, run on the track, use baseball fields etc.
What we have here is a LTUSD power mad group who like to push people around, and particularly, to say NO!
They are public employees and should act like it.
Football is King, unfortunately to the point that the Football is often the most highly compensated employee at many colleges.
The American violence prone culture insists that this is how it should be, and we are told so many times it is nauseating that great leaders are made by following the tenets of football training. More is the pity, washed up football coaches often become sought after inspirational speakers.
I was once told I was trespassing by a district employee who had her softball team at a school playing and I was just there with kids to get some baseball practice in the back field, in no ones way. When I approached the supervisor regarding this incident I was told it did not happen. Right!!!
Maybe you should have tried to reserve Wimbledon this week?