No Board of Education members complained about the signs — which read “Forever 9 Field: The Robbie Levine Foundation” — or the Little League’s wish to honor the foundation’s charitable work. A number of trustees, however, said the league should have obtained board approval to change Levy-Lakeside’s front baseball field from Field 3 to Forever 9 Field, and they expressed concerns about the size of the new signs, which are larger than other signs on the district’s baseball fields.

The board decided that the Little League must specify the signs’ size when it applies to hang permanent Forever 9 Field signs at Levy-Lakeside in 2014.

The decision was met by an outcry from members of the audience, which included several Little League officials and parents, in addition to Jill and Craig Levine.

“I would like to know why is the size of the sign so incredibly offensive, and that is now the sticking point of this issue?” Jill Levine said. “Is our foundation — that has done so much for this community and so many places around this country — that horrible that the size of the name of the foundation needs to be debated and debated and debated?”

Craig Levine said that the controversy that arose over the signs “is extremely upsetting to my family, and it’s getting to the point that I don’t even want to look at the signs anymore.”

“To go ahead and now make an issue about a beautiful sign that was put up to recognize what our foundation has done for the league, for the community — it’s disgusting. I can’t believe it,” he continued. “Someone here on this board was actually with me the night my son died in the hospital … I can’t believe it that I’m hearing this, I really can’t.”