We are writing to ask CVHS to reverse its decision to restrict access to the community-funded CVHS stadium during team practices. Doing so drastically restricts community access to an important local resource, and actually makes the stadium a more dangerous place. 
First, one security guard and a fence won't stop criminals from accessing the stadium grounds, but it will stop parents and law-abiding citizens -- the exact people whose presence has been shown to deter and reduce crime (for free!). 
Second, as CVHS Assistant Principal Matt Steinecke admits, "there haven't been any significant incidents." We understand the concept of prevention, but here we are sacrificing an important community benefit in order to impose an ineffective solution to a problem that doesn't actually exist.
Third, the notion that high school students are in danger if they are allowed to mix with the Castro Valley community is insulting to both groups. Should we close down the streets around CVHS in the hour before and after school? Who knows who might be lurking just beyond school grounds, and the traffic on Redwood Road is probably the greatest actual threat to students.
The community funded the CVHS stadium. It is reserved for the exclusive use of CVHS students during regular school hours. Outside those hours, CVHS activities still have priority in the stadium. We accept that. 
But we do not accept that parents and the community must be excluded from the stadium during CVHS team practices. Doing so makes CVHS students less safe, sends a horrible message about student-community relations, and removes one of the best local resources for fitness while we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic. Please reverse this decision immediately.