Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Out at Home: Paying close attention at a meeting to discuss the fate of their softball playfields are Bobby Sox players (from left) Ali Gumaer, 9, Rebecca Brown, 7, Cameron Baker, 8, Samantha Jones, 8, and Sarah Spina, 9.
Forest Hill renovation plans could disrupt the 2003 Bobby Sox season
School district promises to work with the league
By Moryt Milo
The Campbell Bobby Sox league turned out in full uniform on May 22 to hear Campbell Union School District Superintendent Johanna VanderMolen clear up rumors that the school district is planning to pave over the Bobby Sox fields and turn them into a parking lot.
"It's a rumor," VanderMolen told a packed crowd in the cafeteria at Forest Hill Elementary School. "There was never any intention to take the fields away from the kids."
But the 30-year-old league, which has played the last 18 years on three fields behind the school at 4450 McCoy Ave., is still in danger of losing some of its turf when the school builds a new library/media center, reconfigures its parking lot and addresses its traffic flow problems.
The school renovation, tentatively set for June 2003, is part of Measure H, the $74.9 million bond initiative passed by voters in March. The school's portion of the bond is $3.5 million, said Assistant Superintendent Dale Thurston.
Although parents want to see the school improved, they are not happy with the possibility of the improvements cutting into the fields, which are the playing grounds for a vibrant 300-girl league.
"We shouldn't have to lose anything," said longtime supporter Joyce Shannon. "These fields have been here for 18 years through the sweat and blood of moms, dads and kids. I helped build these fields, and I've seen what happens when schools are torn up for construction. The kids can't play."
But VanderMolen assured the parents that the 2003 season, which would overlap with the start of the school's renovation, would not be eliminated.
"During construction we are willing to provide access to the fields," she said. "We don't want to see the girls' season interrupted."
League board members are still worried that the district doesn't fully understand the ramifications of making changes to the playing area, especially if the league is required to move the fields further back on school grounds.
"The back area is not usable the way it is," said Bobby Sox Treasurer Pete Berends. "It will need to be fixed up, but from a financial standpoint we don't have the funds."
The fields' pristine condition has been achieved through years of hard work, said Bobby Sox President Harry Mullins. The fields are made up of grass and gold fine--a special dirt used in ballpark infields. Each year the fields need to be leveled off with tractors, and excavation work is required if any new fields are built. There is a large snack shack--30 feet by 75 feet--that also serves as a garage, and the fields currently have water, electricity and Port-a-Potties on-site.
This year the league spent $7,500 to replace the fencing and reconfigure some of the electrical work. It also just completed a major fundraiser to purchase new batting cages, which cost $17,000.
"The current fields are a result of 18 years of tapping into resources," Mullins said. "If we have to relocate the fields, they can't be readied in a matter of months."
During the meeting, VanderMolen assured the league that the district would help defray costs if relocation was required.
"If we have to move the fields, the district will absorb the cost," she said.
VanderMolen also said that the district wants to form a committee of parents, neighbors, faculty and Bobby Sox representatives to work with the governing board and the district's architect, Kirk McKim, as part of the planning process.
She continued to emphasize that no decisions about the field had been made and reiterated that the district plans to be a good neighbor.
"I'm talking today about options; nothing is final," she said. "The Bobby Sox are going to have a big voice in this, especially if the fields have to be moved."
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Superintendent: Johanna VanderMolen
Several longtime supporters of the program said that a compromise shouldn't be ruled out and that people should be willing to listen and work together.
Bill Nelson, one of the individuals who helped build the 1983 fields, tried to rally the vocal crowd by asking them to listen to what the district had to offer.
"We have moved the fields before," he said. "If the district is willing to help us, then let's see what they have to say. I'm going to be open."
Several parents suggested the district seek out the help of the city of Campbell, which VanderMolen said might be a possibility once plans have been finalized.
But Nelson was doubtful the city would help.
He said Campbell gave them $2,500 in 1983 and the Campbell Police Department gives them $500 every year, but beyond that there is no support.
"I would like to see the girls get more help. The boys get everything," he said, referring to the Little League fields on Hamilton Avenue.
Mullins agreed and said that the girls league has continually fought an uphill battle. He pointed out that the cities of Milpitas, Cupertino and Salinas continually offer financial assistance in maintaining playing fields, but the same doesn't hold true in Campbell.
"In our town it's all parent volunteers," he said. "The city doesn't give us any support."
But the district is offering to help, and VanderMolen was eager to gather names for a committee that would begin meeting to review the needs of the school, the community and the Bobby Sox league.
Even during the meeting, as parents offered suggestions, district architect McKim was writing down possible options.
Longtime resident Joyce Higgins suggested that the school try to work out a parking arrangement with the St. Thomas of Canterbury church next door .
"I don't want to see any more pavement, and the church's parking lot is always empty," she said.
Most of those in attendance want the school upgraded, but they don't want to see solutions for parking and traffic flow end up encroaching on the softball fields.
Mullin was still a bit leery, even after listening to the district. In prior conversations with Thurston, he was told to hold off buying batting cages because the district wasn't sure where they should be located. At the May 22 meeting, Mullins wondered if the district might be backpedaling from its previous responses, which implied the fields would be moved.
The district began working on a site revision plan immediately after the passage of Measure H, which has caused the purchase of the batting cages to be put on hold for the 2002 season.
For the moment the league is cash rich but deeply concerned about future seasons, Mullins said.
"The question is, are they going to follow through and put a committee together?" he asked. "If they are honest and open-minded, then I'm all for working things out."
Campbell, California
