SDA Tennis Access

Encinitas public recreation

Could SDA’s tennis courts serve the community after school hours?

A practical, limited-access pilot could preserve school priority while opening a neighborhood recreation resource when campus is not in use.

See the proposal Compare nearby models

The idea

Study a controlled joint-use pilot at SDA.

The idea is simple: evaluate whether the SDA tennis courts could be made available for public recreation during non-school hours through a formal agreement between San Dieguito Union High School District and the City of Encinitas.

This would not mean opening the entire campus. It would mean studying whether this specific court area could function as a controlled joint-use pilot site, with school use preserved and public access limited to appropriate times.

Why this site

SDA may be unusually well-positioned for limited public access.

SDA appears to be a particularly strong candidate because the tennis courts are located near the edge of campus and are directly accessible from the street. Public use would not require people to walk through the school campus, classroom areas, or interior student spaces.

That site layout may make SDA different from schools where courts or fields are located deep inside campus.

Map image coming soon
The courts sit along the campus edge, near public street access. That makes the site worth evaluating as a possible joint-use pilot.

Nearby examples

This does not require inventing a new model.

Nearby cities and school districts already use joint-use agreements to make school recreational facilities, including high school tennis courts, available to the public while preserving school use and addressing maintenance, liability, scheduling, and security.

Mission Bay High School / City of San Diego

School use is preserved during school hours; city/community recreation use is allowed after school, on weekends, holidays, and other non-school days.

Tennis courts Maintenance Insurance Gate responsibilities
Download agreement

Carlsbad Unified / City of Carlsbad

The city and district have had a community recreation arrangement since 1989. The current agreement includes Carlsbad High School tennis courts.

Public use hours School priority Routine maintenance Reservations
Download agreement

What agreements solve

The hard parts belong in the agreement.

The important takeaway is not simply that other districts allow access. It is that formal joint-use agreements can define who is responsible for the difficult operational details.

  • School priority and blackout periods
  • Public access hours
  • Scheduling and reservations
  • Routine maintenance
  • Cleanup
  • Gate opening and closing
  • Insurance
  • Liability and indemnity
  • Cost sharing or city maintenance responsibilities
  • Coordination between district and city staff

What still needs study

A pilot would need real operational review.

  • Would SDUHSD be open to studying SDA as a pilot site?
  • Would the City of Encinitas be willing to participate?
  • What maintenance, resurfacing, and cleanup costs would need to be covered?
  • Who would open, close, and secure the gates?
  • What hours would be appropriate?
  • How would school use, team use, tournaments, and reservations take priority?
  • Would additional signage, fencing, locks, or scheduling systems be needed?

Current status

The goal is evaluation, not an immediate demand.

This page is intended as a resource for community members, SDUHSD trustees, district staff, and City of Encinitas staff who may be interested in evaluating whether a joint-use model could work at SDA.

Existing joint-use agreements from nearby jurisdictions are being gathered and summarized so the conversation can be based on proven models rather than speculation.

Documents

Example agreements

These documents are examples of nearby joint-use agreements that may help inform a practical discussion about SDA.

Mission Bay High School / City of San Diego Joint Use Agreement Download PDF Carlsbad Unified / City of Carlsbad Joint Use Agreement Download PDF

About this site

A constructive local resource.

This site is maintained by a local parent interested in practical community access to public recreational facilities during non-school hours.

The goal is to support a constructive conversation among SDUHSD, the City of Encinitas, and community members.