SEX BIAS SETTLEMENT OK'D; WOMEN'S SOFTBALL PROGRAM TO GET PRACTICE FIELD.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Antelope Valley College has agreed to build a $220,000 practice field for the women's softball team and take other steps to settle a civil rights complaint of discrimination against female athletes.

College officials promised to add at least one more sport for women athletes - possibly soccer, though they said that was not certain.

``It is certainly going to cost us more dollars, but if that is what is necessary to provide equitable treatment for women athletes, then that's what we have to do,'' President Linda Spink said. ``It's going to mean a new way of thinking on the part of the faculty and staff.''

The college must submit to federal civil rights officials by Nov. 1 a plan with specific goals for increasing women students' participation in intercollegiate sports, such as by adding teams, hiring more coaches and increasing the number of women athletes on current teams.

The agreement comes three months after federal education officials made a three-day visit to the college to investigate a complaint under Title IX, the 1972 civil rights statute that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender.

Spink said the college does not have the extra money to spare to build a practice field, so it will develop a plan by next spring to outline potential sources of funding, such as fund-raisers, donated services by local companies or federal grants.

``I've got to find the money. I don't have $220,000 to build a field tomorrow,'' Spink said.

The letter noted that there have been no new women's teams added to the athletic program in the past 10 years. Women's tennis, as well as men's tennis and golf, was dropped in 1994 for financial reasons.

Civil rights investigators said they were told there is great interest in women's soccer in the Antelope Valley, as seen in the high schools and in numerous community clubs, the letter said.

People have requested that the college add a women's soccer team, but no action has been taken on the part of the athletic department to respond to these requests, the letter said.

The civil rights office received a complaint March 4 that the college is discriminating against female students by denying them an equal opportunity to participate in intercollegiate athletics.

``The college is not providing participation opportunities for male and female students in numbers substantially proportionate to their respective enrollments,'' wrote Stefan Rosenzweig of the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights in an Aug. 24 letter to Spink. ``Women are underrepresented in the intercollegiate athletics program when compared to their representation in the student body.''

In 1997-98, the full-time enrollment at the college was 5,082 - 39 percent were men and 61 percent were women. But men make up 67 percent of all intercollegiate athletes while women compose 33 percent of the athletes, the letter said.

The college offers five sports for men - baseball, basketball, cross country, football and track - and five sports for women - basketball, cross country, softball, track and volleyball.

In terms of facilities, the Office of Civil Rights noted a disparity for the women's softball team. The team plays its games at Marie Kerr Park in Palmdale, making it the only team that travels off campus to compete. The team practices on campus in what the federal officials described as a poorly maintained and a nonregulation field.

In the event that the practice field is not ready for the 1999 season, an interim plan to provide the softball team with an adequate practice facility off-campus will be developed, the letter said.

The investigation also found that student employment positions in the physical education department were usually filled by male athletes, the letter said.

In 1997-98, of the 11 college federally subsidized work-study positions in the physical education department, 10 were filled by male athletes and only one by a female athlete. Of the 10 slots filled by male athletes, seven were filled by football players.

When asked how positions were filled, college officials said the availability of the positions was publicized by ``word of mouth.'' College officials have now agreed to provide written notices to all athletes and coaches about work-study job openings.

As part of the investigation, the civil rights office requested records of expenditures for men's and women's sports programs by team and line item, but the college did not provide the information.

Rather than wait for the college to install a record-keeping system to furnish that information, the college agreed to a ``voluntary resolution plan,'' which minimizes the time and money that would be spent by both sides in a prolonged investigation, the letter said.

As part of the plan, the college will establish a system for monitoring the income received and spending in athletics program, including funds provided by the district, the associated student organization, the Marauder Club and other sport-specific booster clubs, fund-raising by coaches and athletes, and donations.

The college also agreed to ensure that all male and female athletes are provided with an equal opportunity to apply for student employment positions by providing written notification and posted notices.

The Office of Civil Rights found insufficient evidence to support the allegations of disparities in benefits, services, or opportunities in the areas of scheduling of games and practice times and the provision of medical and training services and that no further action was required.

What they must do

To settle a federal civil rights investigation into allegations that men's sports were favored over women's, Antelope Valley College agreed to:

Develop and implement a plan to increase the participation of women in intercollegiate athletics - by adding teams, hiring additional coaches, expanding the number of women on current teams, etc. - by Nov. 1.

Provide a softball field equivalent to the campus baseball field.

Develop a system for monitoring expenditures - of college, booster club and fund-raising revenues - for intercollegiate athletics programs.

Provide written notices to all coaches and athletes of student employment positions available in the physical education department.

Survey local high schools, other Foothill Conference colleges and local recreational leagues on what sports they offer for women.

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BOX: WHAT THEY MUST DO (See text)