Audit shows funding and program disparities, geographical divide for San Diego recreation centers
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Henry Baisden has been giving free tennis lessons at Colina Del Sol Recreation Center in City Heights since the 2000s. He noticed a decrease in the maintenance of the room.
“The area manager sometimes comes and asks me if a net needs to be put in place and they don’t have the staff to do it,” said Baisden. ”
Equity in Recreation Programming Program Performance Assessment, Released Nov. 1, Recreation Centers in Northern San Diego’s northern boroughs receive more funding, host more activities, and attract more attendees than recreational centers in southern San Diego.
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The report will be presented to the San Diego City Audit Committee on Wednesday. It said the city’s Parks and Recreation Department is contributing to this inequality problem by poorly handling the low-income fee exemptions and not publishing promotional materials often enough in languages other than English.
Jacob Aer
Henry Baisden will help one of his students practice their serve on the tennis courts at Colina Del Sol Recreation Center in City Heights on November 16, 2021.
The biggest differences arise from the contractually agreed programs that the participants pay out of their own pocket, said City Auditor Andy Hanau
“These contract programs are almost exclusively in the northern parts of the city,” he said. “We encourage the city to expand these contracted programs to southern areas of the city and to consider extending fee waivers or discounts to those who may not be able to pay the full cost of these programs.”
This survey also found that most of the 27 city parks in poor condition are in low- and middle-income areas, not affluent parts of the city.
The absence of noise in the vicinity or improved maintenance of the courts in other leisure centers become evident for Baisden’s tennis students when they travel to tournaments.
“I tell them: pay attention to where you are, where you come from,” he said. “When you leave your facility, compare the situation.”
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