Los Angeles Unified School District has spent millions of dollars upgrading athletic facilities at high schools across Los Angeles, including major investments at historic schools in the Eastside and Northeast Los Angeles.
But the uneven pace of those investments is raising questions about which schools are receiving new fields and tracks and which are still relying on older facilities.
Franklin High School is now at the center of that discussion.
The school community has launched a petition calling for a new athletic field and track, arguing that Franklin students deserve the same level of investment that LAUSD has provided at other campuses.
The petition specifically points to a new football field and track and calls for a broader athletic facilities upgrade at Franklin. It also names LAUSD Board Member Rocío Rivas, saying she promised the school a new football field.
But the larger issue extends beyond the petition.
It is the growing difference between the athletic facilities LAUSD has funded at some schools and what remains available to students at others.
Millions for new athletic facilities
LAUSD has made athletic facilities a significant part of its school construction and modernization program.
The district has approved major projects involving new synthetic football fields, competition tracks, lighting, bleachers, field event areas and other athletic infrastructure.
In 2021, LAUSD approved a major modernization of Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights. The project included improvements to the football field, running track, baseball field and softball field. More than $26 million was allocated specifically toward the school’s athletic facilities.
The Roosevelt project included a regulation football field, competition track, lighting, scoreboard, press box, bleachers, concessions, restrooms and ticket booths.
The renovated Roosevelt stadium opened in 2025.
Garfield High School provides another example. LAUSD approved a Synthetic Football Field and Track Upgrade Project there, with more than $9 million allocated for improvements.
And at nearby Eagle Rock High School, LAUSD approved a roughly $13.6 million athletic facilities project that includes a new synthetic football and soccer field, an eight lane track and facilities for long jump, triple jump and high jump.
These projects represent substantial public investment in high school athletics.
They also raise a basic question for the Franklin community.
Where does Franklin fit into the district’s athletic facilities priorities?
Franklin’s facilities remain the focus
Franklin High School is more than a century old and serves a large student population in Northeast Los Angeles.
The school has athletic programs in football, soccer, track and field, softball, baseball, flag football, cheer and other sports.
The community petition argues that the school’s current facilities are not comparable to the modern athletic complexes being developed elsewhere in LAUSD.
It calls for a new football field and track as well as a dedicated softball field and other improvements.
The petition says Franklin students have waited while surrounding schools have received new facilities.
That argument is difficult to separate from LAUSD’s broader spending decisions.
The district has already demonstrated that it can finance and construct modern athletic facilities at historic Los Angeles high schools.
The question is why a comparable project has not emerged for Franklin.
Roosevelt shows the difference
Roosevelt is particularly relevant because it is another historic Eastside high school that faced concerns about aging athletic facilities.
Rather than leaving those facilities unchanged, LAUSD incorporated a major athletic upgrade into Roosevelt’s broader modernization.
The result is a new stadium and upgraded athletic infrastructure that students now use.
The comparison does not mean Franklin and Roosevelt have identical needs or that their projects were funded through the same programs.
But it demonstrates that major athletic improvements are possible at large, historic LAUSD campuses serving communities that have long depended on their schools.
That makes the absence of a comparable Franklin project worth examining.
LAUSD has acknowledged inequities
The district’s own records provide additional context.
LAUSD has acknowledged that athletic facilities are not equally available or adequate across its high schools.
In 2021, the district reported that many schools had inadequate, undersized or outdated athletic facilities. It also said that numerous teams were forced to use facilities away from their campuses.
The district subsequently directed significant bond resources toward athletic improvements.
The stated goal was to provide students with better facilities and address longstanding inequities.
That raises an important question for Franklin.
If athletic facility inequities are a recognized districtwide problem, what criteria determine which schools receive new fields and tracks?
Is Franklin scheduled for an athletic facilities project?
Has the district conducted a formal assessment of the school’s field and track?
Has a Franklin athletic project been proposed but deferred?
Is there a funding source available?
And if Franklin is not currently in the district’s plans, what would it take to put the school there?
The petition puts pressure on Rivas
This is where the petition becomes relevant.
The campaign has placed the issue directly before Board Member Rocío Rivas, who represents Franklin.
The petition says Rivas promised Franklin a new football field and asks her and LAUSD to deliver on that commitment.
That specific promise has not been independently confirmed through the publicly available LAUSD records reviewed for this story.
That does not mean the statement was never made. It could have been made during a community meeting or another setting that is not reflected in the district’s publicly searchable records.
But the petition has succeeded in putting a larger facilities question into the public conversation.
The real question is about priorities
The issue facing Franklin is not simply whether the school wants a better football field.
It is about how LAUSD distributes limited capital funding among its schools.
Roosevelt received a major athletic investment.
Garfield received a dedicated football field and track project.
Eagle Rock received approval for a new synthetic field and track.
Other LAUSD schools across Los Angeles have also received substantial athletic upgrades.
Franklin’s community is now asking when its school will receive similar consideration.
That question deserves an answer from the district, regardless of the petition.
LAUSD can explain whether Franklin has been evaluated, whether a project has been considered, what funding would be required and what obstacles have prevented it from moving forward.
Until then, the contrast remains.
