Since its inception in the 1970s, generations of AYSO Region 69 players have used the fields at Paul Revere Middle School for practices, games, try-outs, instructional clinics, registration and other special events. Through its support of the school in the form of financial donations, field maintenance, and providing goals, equipment, coaches and referees for its athletic program, AYSO has forged a close bond with the Paul Revere community.

Over the past year, however, AYSO has seen its allotment of field space cut in half, having completely lost the permit on the Sunset field. The negative impact on the 100 teams that train at Revere on weekdays, the entire U12 girl program that has games on Saturdays, and our Spring League and All-Star programs that run from March through June has been considerable.

The beneficiary of the displacement of AYSO’s 1700 players (many of them current and future Paul Revere students) has been a private 75-player club. AYSO’s pleas before the school’s principal, Mr. Tom Iannucci, have yielded only a further cementing of the private group’s control of the Sunset field.

It’s time the community raised its voice.

We, the undersigned, in acknowledgment of AYSO Region 69’s longstanding relationship with Paul Revere Middle School, a public LAUSD facility, protest the loss of this non-profit organization’s use of the Sunset field to a small, private, for-profit soccer group. The current situation needs to be reversed and a solution that is fair and equitable needs to be implemented. The interests of 1700 players hangs in the balance.

In addition, if you’d like to express your concerns directly, you can email Principal Tom Iannucci (tiannucc@lausd.net) and LAUSD School Board President and District 4 Representative Steve Zimmer (steve.zimmer@lausd.net).

Thank you for your support.