Kids, Gym Sit Idle as Bureaucrats Quarrel

A new $3-million gymnasium in El Rio just north of Oxnard was meant to be a haven for the low-income community’s youth, but instead has remained mostly unused for weeks.

Rio School District Supt. Yolanda Benitez and Ventura County Supervisor John Flynn are at odds over what has kept the 6-month-old gym from becoming the lively youth center the community envisioned. The district and county are responsible for its operations under a 1997 joint agreement.

Benitez contends that liability concerns have prevented officials from swinging open the gym’s doors after school and during these first few weeks of summer.

“There’s an impression that we can open it up and have people coming in and out,” Benitez said. “We can’t. We’re a small district, and one liability incident could kill us.”

But Flynn called the insurance issue an “excuse,” saying the county’s blanket policy covers activities in the gym when school’s not in session, according to the 1997 agreement. He accused Benitez of refusing to cooperate with county officials for the past six months.

“There’s no way you can plan if the owner of the gym doesn’t want to participate,” said Flynn, whose district includes El Rio and who was a strong advocate for the gymnasium. “She simply doesn’t want the county involved in helping the young adults of El Rio.”

The county and school district are also in dispute over which is responsible for organizing activities for youths and adults at the gym. County officials maintain that the school district was supposed to handle programming, but Benitez disagreed.

“Our job is to educate kids,” she said. “We’re not a parks and recreation agency with programs we could slap in.”

The written agreement is vague, stating only that the district will “administer” programs. No city or group, aside from the El Rio Police Activities League, has stepped forward with a program for the district to administer, Benitez said.

Unfulfilled Promises Infuriate Parents

The result of the wrangling has been a recreation facility that has not lived up to residents’ expectations. The gym--built with state, county and school district money--was sold as a community center where teens and adults could drop in to participate in classes, play organized sports or simply hang out.

But there has been little after-school or weekend activity at the center since it opened, and almost none since summer vacation began in mid-June. The delay has infuriated El Rio parents.

“We have a serious problem in El Rio--our children have nothing,” said Soledad Trevino, a mother and 15-year El Rio resident who has become a vocal advocate for more programming at the gym. “We have been waiting for this for a very, very long time.”

So far, the only group that’s been allowed into the spacious facility is the Police Activities League--a membership-based program of the Sheriff’s Department open to participants ages 8 to 18. About 160 youths in El Rio belong to the group, which engages them in sports activities and takes them on field trips.

“I think it’s a good fit,” said school board member George Perez, who is also president of the El Rio PAL board.

But under the school district’s policy, anyone who is not a member of PAL or doesn’t fall within its age bracket cannot use the gym unless they show proof of $1-million liability insurance.

So far this summer, a few recreation-seekers have been turned away, said Tom Barber, gym supervisor.

Aside from a kids’ basketball league he’s coaching through PAL, there is little planned for the summer, Barber said. The insurance issue has prevented him from hosting drop-in hours for anyone not involved with the police group.

“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “We want to be able to welcome the whole community.”

Limited Hours, Closed Weekends

For now, the gym is open to PAL members or any group with its own insurance from 1 to 7 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and for PAL programs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. It’s closed on weekends.

Andy Oshita, Ventura County parks manager, said the county has made it clear the insurance is not an issue. He said the gym should have offered programs months ago, and especially now with school out.

“What I’m confused about is why they haven’t started these programs,” he said. “The county has lived up to their part of the deal. Why can’t the community use the gym?”

Perez asked for patience, as large projects take time to get off the ground.

“Everyone is trying their best,” he said. “I think we have a good idea about where we want to go, and a good idea how get there.”

Trustee Ron Mosqueda said he believes the district should have planned programs long before the facility opened.

“We’ve known the gym was going to be built for the last year and a half, and staff waited until the last minute to get things going,” he said. “Now we’re here with summer vacation, and we do not have much to offer.”

For Mosqueda, who grew up in El Rio playing basketball on unpaved courts and catching buses to the Boys & Girls Club miles away in Oxnard, it’s particularly frustrating.

Last Wednesday, he watched disappointedly as a few kids dribbled basketballs and played relay games.

“There are 3,000 children in the district and we have four here,” Mosqueda said. “We have this big, beautiful building, but we haven’t gotten all of the pieces to make it work.”