Seal Beach : Eyesore Schoolyard to Be Repaired, Neighbors Told

Residents complaining about the shoddy condition of McGaugh Elementary School’s playing fields have been assured by school district officials that the problems will be resolved this summer.

A petition signed by about 30 residents living near the school at 1698 Bolsa Ave., and submitted to the Los Alamitos Unified School District, portrayed the fields as “blighted,” unsightly and dangerous.

“I think that’s a gross exaggeration,” said district Supt. Charles McCully, although he did concede that the fields are rough and much of the grass has died. He said that the district has concentrated on repairing classrooms and buildings since merging with the Seal Beach Unified School District in 1983 and that it now plans to upgrade other facilities.

Because the fields get a lot of use both by the school and the community, it was difficult to find a good time for watering the grass, he said. That problem will be solved this summer, he said, with the installation of an automatic watering system and the planting of new grass.