Butler Transcript at Ocean View Studied

The transcript of Ricky Butler, the Ocean View High School basketball star who less than a month ago was declared ineligible for the 1984-85 season, is being investigated for a possible grade discrepancy that occurred during his freshman year.

John Myers, Ocean View principal, is examining allegations that Butler, a Times All-Orange County selection, received a failing grade that did not appear on his transcript after he transferred geography classes with three weeks remaining in the 18-week semester.

Last month, Myers dismissed Jim Harris as Ocean View basketball coach because of “undue influence” to retain Butler and fellow Lynwood transfer Desi Hazely at the Huntington Beach school. Both students lived with Harris at his El Toro home this past season, but neither lived with the coach when they were freshmen.

The Seahawks, Southern Section 5-A runners-up, forfeited their victories during the 1984-85 season. Myers also declared Butler and Hazley ineligible following a three-month investigation by Huntington Beach Union High School District officials into the ethics of the Seahawks’ program.

Myers declined to comment on Butler’s transcript investigation, but Harris said Butler transferred to a remedial geography class near the end of the semester.

“It’s simply a procedural problem,” Harris said.

Butler received a passing grade in his new class, but the instructor of the original class claimed she gave Butler an “F” grade, sources said. Butler’s teacher assumed he had received an “F,” but was surprised to learn that he had passed the class when she checked his transcripts last week. She notified district officials shortly thereafter.