This story was updated after print deadlines. Creswell School District Superintendent Mike Johnson posted a letter on the school’s Facebook page in response to coverage and community interest.
BY ELI THOMAS
THE CHRONICLE
CRESWELL – Creswell High School’s baseball field, newly refurbished and updated thanks to a multimillion dollar bond measure passed by residents in 2023, is the center of dispute over use of the facility.
The issue became public after Bulldogs baseball coach Kevin Feist sent a letter to parents explaining the problem, expressing his frustration, and stating he would resign after the season if school district officials didn’t remedy the problem to his satisfaction.
A parent published Feist’s letter on social media Sunday.
Feist told The Chronicle on Monday that he intended the message only for the parents of his players, and didn’t expect it to be on social media.
In May 2023, Creswell residents voted to approve an $18.2 million bond measure to improve facilities in Creswell schools. Included in that were new turf fields for both the baseball and softball teams. Since the new fields have been implemented, school district officials have been renting the baseball field to outside groups such as men’s leagues and university club teams in an effort to drive revenue.
The latest incident, which led to Feist’s letter to parents, was the lack of accommodation for a junior varsity doubleheader that Feist was trying to schedule for April 25. The field had been rented out to the University of Washington club baseball team, and Feist was told that his team could have the field only after 5 p.m.
“I’ve been a coach for 38 years and I’ve never had the lack of communication or of collaboration with other school districts and administrations and things like that, when it came to my program and my facilities,” Feist said. “So, yeah, I’m very frustrated. I will resign at the end of the year if it doesn’t improve. I don’t say that as a threat, but this is just a bunch of crap.”
An additional problem has been that no one is picking up after these outside groups, making those within the Bulldogs program responsible.
“I end up with my own blower blowing out and getting rid of all the seeds and picking up “zyns” off the field. So we end up doing the maintenance after it’s rented. And then nothing happens to these groups who don’t follow the rules and regulations of our field, and that’s frustrating,” Feist said.
Feist, his other coaches, and the parents of players being responsible for cleaning up after others who use the field and for the upkeep of baseball facilities is not new.
“My first year here, I couldn’t get them to mow our baseball field,” Feist said. ”It was our parents and our players and their relatives, and whoever else. And with that, a senior parent that year paid hundreds of dollars to have Rexius come in, and help finalize the preparations for our first game.”
Creswell athletic director Kyle Kordon is on medical leave, according to Feist, which complicates things further. Usually the scheduling of all games is handled by the athletic director, but Feist is trying to do it himself for his junior varsity team in the absence of Kordon.
It is not uncommon for school districts to rent facilities to offset costs and generate revenue. Supporters of the Creswell baseball program said they are concerned about the lack of upkeep shortening the field’s lifespan. The field is also the only 90-foot (basepath) baseball field in the area, Feist said.
Mike Johnson, superintendent of the Creswell School District, stated in an online social media post Tuesday afternoon:
“While our athletic director has been on medical leave, he has remained actively engaged remotely and responsive to staff and coaches. He has been specifically networking with other high schools to schedule JV baseball games and will continue to assist in this manner. Additionally, our administrative and facilities teams have continued to effectively manage scheduling, coordination, and support for all programs,” he wrote.
Johnson also wrote that Feist had been included in scheduling efforts.
“The weekends that the U of O team were on the field were not requested for CHS baseball games,” he wrote. “All field requests were processed with the CHS baseball coach and the CHS athletic director.”
In spite of the off-field drama, the Bulldogs baseball team is ranked No. 4 in Class 3A and has had back-to-back walk-off victories.
Feist ended his message to parents with a plea for other voices to get involved in the situation.
“If they won’t listen to me, hopefully they will listen to concerned parents, relatives, and community members,” he wrote.
