Los Alamitos school district may hike sports fees 600%

Los Alamitos Unified School District is scheduled to vote Tuesday evening on a proposed plan to increase athletic facility fees, including controversial rental rates based on the number of people using a sports field.

Dubbed as a capital improvement plan, district officials say the new fees will help generate funds for large-scale projects and major repairs to the fields.

But critics argue that the plan is costly -- as much as a 600% increase in some cases -- and it would affect mostly youth sports programs, which rent the softball and fields for games.

According to the proposed plan, groups using an athletic field four or more times a season would be charged $5 per person. The fee is then multiplied by an “activity weighing scale,” which estimates the level of impact the event will have on a field.

Based on the district’s formula, each softball player would pay $6.25; a soccer player would be charged $10. These fees would double in some cases by 2015.

“This is the imperfect proposal they’re trying to stuff down our throats,” said Peter Carvajal, assistant regional commissioner for American Youth Soccer Organization.

He said the new fees would have a negative effect on enrollment for youth sports and that the organizations were cut out of the planning process.

Last year, AYSO paid the district and city $10,000 in fees. With the new usage fees, the soccer organization says it will increase the cost to $20,000. Additionally, the per-head fees would add another $50,000 in expenses.

“A 600% increase is outrageous,” Carvajal said.

Although opponents concede that some fees should be increased to help fund improvements, they believe the proposal is exorbitant and being implemented too quickly.

The fees were determined after a study by a consulting firm in 2009. The study noted that maintenance and improvement costs should be evenly split between the city, the school district and groups that use the fields the most.

Los Alamitos Unified School District Supt. Sherry Kropp said that if the fees appear high, it’s because they haven’t changed for 11 years.

“Opinions are flying everywhere,” she said.

After hearing from concerned residents, the district cut the per-head fee in half and said it would gradually increase it to $10 by 2015.

A similar vote is scheduled at the June 17 Los Alamitos City Council meeting.

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