SPRINGDALE — Some Springdale High School parents think their children aren't getting the same opportunities as those at Har-Ber High School.
The Springdale School District spent $28,894 from building and maintenance funds on a baseball practice field at Har-Ber between 2006 and 2011, according to district records received through a Freedom of Information Act request. However, Springdale High doesn't have a baseball field.
BY THE NUMBERS
Har-Ber High School Baseball Field Expenses
Note: Estimated cost for fencing and concrete are included in the cost of the dugouts.
$28,894 — Total expenses for baseball field.
$13,803 — Cost of dugouts.
$9,427 — Cost of dirt work and drainage.
$2,865 — Cost of backstop.
$2,095 — Cost of practice mound.
$701 — Cost of bases.
Source: Springdale School District
H.B. Whitaker, a member of the Springdale High baseball booster club, said he "stumbled onto" the numbers when he submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for information about baseball facilities. He said he thinks the district should have given an equal amount of money to Springdale High for a field on that campus.
"Nothing illegal was done," he said. "We just don't think the right thing was done."
The Springdale High baseball team practices and plays games at Tyson Park, Whitaker said. In the spring, the team travels on a bus to practice about five days a week. Whitaker said this increases the risk of an accident during travel, something that could be avoided if the team had a practice field on campus.
"It's a safety issue," he said.
Har-Ber's team plays all of their home games at Tyson Park, said Wayne Stehlik, district athletic director. They only use the field on their campus for practice.
Springdale High may not have an on-campus practice field, but the school's team has some equipment Har-Ber doesn't have, Stehlik said. The field next to the Walker Field House has a backstop, the field house has indoor batting cages and the team also has three or four portable pitching mounds, while Har-Ber has one.
Whitaker said the team uses the batting cages and portable pitching mounds about three times a week. He said he hasn't seen the team use the backstop at all in the past year.
It's normal for school districts with more than one high school to have people at one school wanting what another school has, said Jim Rollins, district superintendent. For example, Har-Ber's football team had to travel to Springdale High for years to play football games because they didn't have their own stadium. District officials are trying to fix the issue by building a football stadium on the Har-Ber campus.
Construction on the Har-Ber football stadium has begun and is to be finished by the start of the 2014-15 school year.
Springdale High also had an indoor practice facility before Har-Ber had one, said Randy Salsbury, Har-Ber baseball coach. Har-Ber got an indoor facility in the past year, but there aren't batting cages in it like in the field house at Springdale High. The booster club at Har-Ber had to raise money and take out a loan of about $50,000 to pay for batting cages on campus, said Troy Blackston, president of the Har-Ber baseball booster club.
Blackston said he graduated from Springdale High before Har-Ber was built. He said it's disappointing and frustrating to see people from one school argue over what the other school has.
"I want both programs to do well," he said.
Blackston said he thinks parents at both schools need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
There's also an issue of land space at Springdale High, Stehlik said. Springdale High is on 50 to 60 acres and Har-Ber is on about 120 acres. There is a lot more land that can be used on the Har-Ber campus.
There are only two grassy fields left on the Springdale High campus, Stehlik said. The area by the tennis courts across from the Springdale Public Library is used for marching band practice, which is why officials don't want to build a baseball field there.
The other area is next to the field house, Stehlik said. Part of the field is used for soccer practice and a sand pit in the field is used for track, football and volleyball training.
It might be possible to use the back part of the field for baseball and softball fields, Stehlik said. The only problems are that it would back up to a drainage ditch, and the area gets wet in the spring. It's also the only area left where administrators could build more academic buildings if needed.
The baseball practice field at Har-Ber High was in the original plans for the school when it was built in 2006, Stehlik said. Plans weren't created for a field at Springdale High at the time, because no one with the baseball team expressed interest in having one. The Har-Ber team wasn't using the field at Tyson Park, so the Springdale High team had the fields at the park to itself.
Parents in the booster club at Springdale High were working two years ago on plans for a baseball field to be built north of the field house, Whitaker said. When questions arose about a drainage ditch around the edge of the north and west sides of the field, Stehlik said he met with a Springdale City Council alderman to talk about it. He said he was told that covering the entire ditch could cost more than $1 million.
Whitaker said work on the plans came to a stop at that point. Stehlik said communication broke down between him and the booster club parents.
"Did I fail in not taking this plan further? Absolutely," he said. "I failed the kids."
During a meeting Wednesday with some Springdale High booster club parents, Stehlik said he needs the parents to give him a detailed plan for the field so he can speak with district officials about it. He would also need to speak with officials about their plans for the land.
"I'm not in a position to say yes or no," he said. "I'm in a position to connect players and parents to the district."
Whitaker told Stehlik at the meeting he wants to see a long-term plan from Stehlik for baseball at Springdale High. He said it's not acceptable to leave those plans to the parents.
"I think an athletic director needs to give that type of guidance," he said.
Stehlik said he understands the parents want him to create the plan for the field. He said he has no problem taking a leadership role in the process.
"If that's what it takes, I will work on a plan," he said.
Stehlik said he can't be sure the district will put money toward the field, but asking for the money would be part of the plan. He said the booster club would have to do some fundraising as well.
Stehlik said he didn't know how much money the Har-Ber booster club raised for their field. Booster clubs in the district don't report the amount of money they raise to the district, said Kelly Hayes, district comptroller.
Salsbury said very little of the fundraising for the Har-Ber High field was money. Most of the donations were materials and labor.
"The field was done by the people of the community," he said.
The plan for a field at Springdale High would also have to be approved by Rollins and the School Board, Stehlik said. He said he wants to start working on the plan after baseball season ends in late May.
Rollins said he is willing to meet with the booster club parents.
"We'd be tickled to death to help in any way that we can," he said. "We just need to work together."
NW News on 03/31/2014