L.A. Athletic Facilities Face Closure : Youth sports: Budget cuts for new fiscal year force school district officials to consider charging user fees. But program is not expected to be finalized in time to keep fields, gyms open next week.

Youth teams wishing to use athletic facilities at Los Angeles Unified School District campuses may find the gates locked and doors closed beginning Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Board of Education voted on Thursday to eliminate from the 1992-93 budget nearly $1.4 million that previously was earmarked for Student Auxiliary Services.

Slashed was the youth services arm of that division, which provided supervision and granted use permits for athletic facilities at district campuses.

Consequently, until a newly proposed user-fee plan is in place, teams that show up at district athletic venues when the new fiscal year begins Wednesday may find the lights out and nobody home, a district official said Friday.

“As of July 1, we’ll no longer have the funds to pay people to supervise,” said Don Wertz, the district’s recreation director. “What we’ll probably have to say on July 1 is, ‘Sorry, we can’t accommodate you.’ ”

Previously, nonprofit athletic teams were granted use permits at no charge. The district already has taken steps to adopt a user-fee format under which teams using the facilities would pay a flat rate as well as an hourly fee.

Wertz said he is awaiting a directive from superiors on how to respond to the budget reduction, but said that until the details on the user-fee plan are finalized, teams wishing to use district facilities will probably need to lease the land from the district or find another place to play.

“Unfortunately, the cost (of leasing land) is going to be rather high,” Wertz said.

By design, the user-fee plan would allow the youth services program to fund itself. Youth services coordinators at district schools are charged with the issuance of use permits at each campus and the supervision of those using the athletic facilities.

Everyone from the Boy Scouts, youth football programs, American Legion baseball teams and adult basketball squads could soon find that they will have to pay to play, Wertz said.

A preliminary recommendation calls for a graduated fee scale depending on the size of the athletic facility. An hourly charge will likely be established in addition to a flat custodial fee, Wertz said. In short, user fees will keep the gates open and the field lit. Wertz predicted that the district will require all fees to be paid in advance.

“Otherwise there will be nobody there to open the place up,” he said.

Wertz said that, according to tentative figures drawn up by the district, a team wishing to use a large soccer field would be charged a flat custodial fee of $320 and an hourly fee of $16. A large high school gymnasium would cost $80, plus an hourly fee of $22. A football field such as the one at Birmingham High would cost $480 plus an hourly fee of $34. “The hourly costs, to me, don’t seem that prohibitive,” Wertz said. “It’s the clean-up costs that are really a killer.”

A district representative said that the tentative fee proposal will be outlined to the board members Monday. Wertz said it could take until Aug. 1 to finalize the fee scale and have youth services coordinators back in place.

Youth coaches throughout the region say their organizations will be unable to meet the district’s demands, particularly with little notice.

“Most of our clubs just can’t afford to pay the fees,” said Vic Farhood of the Valley Conference Youth Athletic Assn. “Most of our teams just absorbed a 40% increase in insurance fees. There’s no way they can withstand this.”

Farhood said the conference will hold a meeting next week to decide whether to cancel the upcoming football season. The conference also fields teams in track and field, basketball and cheerleading and claims 6,000 members in the San Fernando Valley.

The American Legion District 20 baseball program, which includes a dozen teams that play at district baseball fields, has started drawing up plans to play at alternate sites.

The Legion regular season in the Valley is more than half over and District 20 Commissioner Mel Swerdling said he has a difficult time swallowing the fact that teams will have their use permits revoked in midstream.

“The season ends July 26,” Swerdling said. “Why can’t they leave well enough alone? After the season, we’d be glad to sit down and sort this out. All of our funds are committed. We have no more money to spend.”

Swerdling said teams that normally would play at district fields could play at Southern Section schools. The District 20 All-Star Game on July 12 likely will be moved from Birmingham High, a district field, to another site.

Other potential problems remain. For instance, the restructuring of the on-site youth services coordinator’s role could open up the system to abuse. If youth services coordinators are present only when prepaid teams are playing, who polices the area during the rest of the day?

“If they eliminate permits other than for the people who paid, who’s around to kick the others out?” said Bob Ganssle, the youth services coordinator at El Camino Real High. “Who, technically, is supposed to be there to make sure the facility is secure? There’s a lot of room for abuse there.”

Ganssle pointed out that the district also could be setting itself up for injury lawsuits over the lack of supervision at district fields.

Also slashed from the Student Auxiliary Services budget was $73,000 in funding for all permanent and portable pool programs, swimming instruction, supervision and lifeguards.