Rates for the use of Wood Middle School’s field recently went up for Alameda Little League, inspiring backlash from participating families. The news was presented to players and guardians from Little League leadership mid-September, prompting an uproarious response, including a coordinated email campaign to AUSD to problem-solve and show their discontent.
Shortly after the news of the new rate broke to Little League participants, and following a wave of emails, AUSD issued a response in an effort to “clarify the issues and detail the timeline of communications with the League.”
“For many years, Alameda Little League was allowed to rent AUSD fields for $1/year—far below the discounted rate we charge to other Alameda nonprofit organizations. In return, Little League was responsible for maintenance of the field, and AUSD paid for all utilities (i.e., electricity and water, including for the field lights and the Snack Shack),” the statement read.
“Earlier this year, however, AUSD determined that this arrangement was: no longer financially sustainable; was not fair to other non-profit organizations; and could potentially raise legal issues,” the statement continued. “In addition, AUSD had begun construction on the new Wood campus, which included installing security fencing around the construction area and removing the bathrooms on the site. These physical changes made it challenging for non-school staff to access the field for maintenance; for the commercial garbage service the League was using to get to the trash bins for pick-up; or for sanitation companies to service portable toilets.”
Beginning in August 2025, AUSD began charging the Little League the same amount it charges other nonprofit organizations. As such, AUSD is now responsible for maintaining and irrigating the fields, removing trash, and performing other general custodial services.
In addition to the amount of the rate increase, the timing of the change took Little League families by surprise. In their statement, AUSD said that they communicated the new rate structure to Little League President Ron Matthews in April 2025, and that in May 2025, district staff and Matthews worked to develop a daily cost projection for every day the league needed the fields between July 30, 2025 and June 20, 2026. In a statement to the Alameda Post, AUSD stated that the district had been talking to Little League leadership about the need to discontinue their exclusive agreement for more than two years.
Matthews told the Alameda Post that he met with AUSD Assistant Superintendent Shariq Kahn and two of his staff members to discuss the Joint Use Agreement for the field on May 15, 2025. During the meeting, Matthews was told that AUSD would be terminating the previous agreement, which “was no surprise to me,” he told the Post, “given the loss of the adjacent field and the changes toward locks on fences surrounding the property.” He said he was told the new rate would be “comparable” to ARPD’s rate of $10/hour.
Then, on May 28, Matthews received a spreadsheet asking him to fill in the league’s requested dates. There was a “rates” tab on the spreadsheet, he said, but he was unable to open it. Then on September 5, he received another rate breakdown with “astronomical increases.” According to Matthews, this was the first time he realized the new rates would be an issue—the day before Fall Ball began.
Kelly Griswold, a parent of an Alameda Little League player, is hoping everyone can “put egos aside and turn this into an opportunity to expand access, not restrict it.”
“My concern is simple: Kids are losing access to a field that should be serving them,” Griswold told the Post. “It’s incredibly disappointing to see this devolve into finger-pointing rather than focusing on solutions. I believe AUSD has an opportunity to work more collaboratively with recreational youth sports to keep costs low and maximize participation, and I also think Little League needs to examine its communication and governance so families aren’t caught off guard like this again.”
Geriswold’s 10-year-old son, Jack, said, “I was really excited for Fall Ball this year because it’s the first time I’m on a team with one of my best friends from school. I’ve been playing Little League since I was 4, and I’ve always wanted to play on the Majors field. Last year the AAA field was torn down, so I couldn’t play there, and I was extra excited to finally play on the Majors field this fall. I don’t understand why we can’t use it, especially when nobody else is.”
Margie Hunt, a Paden and Little League mom, spoke to the Post about the investments Little League has made in the field over the years.
“Not only does the drastic cost increase impact how LL would need to structure their participation fees (it could prevent many families from being able to participate if registration fees have to increase in order to cover this new cost), but it also disregards all the investments and improvements LL has made to the upkeep and usability of those fields,” she wrote in an email statement to the Post. “LL has already invested so much money in maintaining the fields.”
Hunt said she is hopeful “there could be more creative ways to mitigate any legal violations AUSD may feel they’re at risk of, while still embracing the positive impact that LL has on our kids, families and our community.”
“Many parents are very frustrated and have written amazing letters to the board—so many smart, thoughtful people looking for ways to make this all work. We would hope that the district would put in that same effort,” Hunt said of an email campaign aimed at AUSD with three templates that feature an “equity focus,” “resource stewardship focus,” and “community trust and engagement focus.”
That said, Hunt fully supports leveraging ARPD to continue the season. “The game at lower Washington Park was very enjoyable and I’m grateful that we have another option that allows our kids to play baseball and contribute to the community as a whole,” she said.
When the new rate became apparent to the Little League leadership team, they immediately pivoted to renting ARPD fields in order to avoid any interruption of the Fall Ball season, according to Rick Breslin, Director of Fall Ball.
“The kids are playing on different fields across Alameda, and we are making the best of a challenging situation since these fields were not equipped to host baseball games,” Breslin told the Post. “We are actively carting around equipment to make the games happen. Extraordinary efforts were made by Alameda Little League’s Stephan Dumont and ARPD’s Joey Carroll to help us find suitable playing fields within days after discovering the AUSD field was unaffordable.”
Matthews told the Post that he is still attempting to negotiate the new rate with AUSD. “We are currently using ARPD fields for Fall Ball and the field that we have used for 45 years now is sitting vacant,” he said.
Of the School Board meeting taking place on September 30, Matthews says he expects “public discussions will be very interesting! Stay tuned.”
Kelsey Goeres is the Managing Editor of the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Kelsey-Goeres.
