Sharing Is the Right Course

Soccer may be the perfect game for kids--low in equipment cost and body contact, high in energy consumption and anyone-can-be-a-star equal opportunity.

But soccer is not the only game for kids.

That’s why Oxnard school trustees made the right play last week when they supported officials of Norma Harrington Elementary School in their plan to install new playground equipment in a spot that will slightly reduce the area available for soccer fields.

We applaud the trustees and Principal Ron D’Incau for putting the school’s students ahead of older community members who use the fields after hours. And we hand a red card to overzealous soccer buffs who tried to turn the issue into an ethnic dispute.

The apparently simple decision grew complicated after a group of soccer fans, led by second-grade teacher Juan Mora, said the equipment would make games cramped and possibly dangerous. They asked that the equipment be moved 20 yards north.

Parents and teachers have spent six months raising $25,000 to buy the slides and ladders. They contend that the equipment needs to go in a central location, so teachers can keep an eye on youngsters swinging and climbing.

Mora stepped out of bounds when he accused school officials of being insensitive to Latinos, for whom soccer is a popular pastime.

“Soccer is an important part of our culture, our community--and this is an anti-soccer move,” he said.

Soccer is indeed a fundamental element of Latino culture, although in recent years it has grown in popularity among children of all ethnic groups. Another fundamental element of Latino culture is love and concern for a community’s children. The students of Norma Harrington School, 97% of whom are Latino, deserve to have their playground in a safe, conveniently supervised location.

It is good that our schools often serve as recreational centers for the neighborhoods that surround them. But in this case, the safety of the kids has to come first. We believe this playground is big enough for both groups.