Chatsworth’s Shair Resigns in Wake of Decision on Winter-Sports Season

After 21 years as the boys’ basketball coach at Chatsworth High, Gary Shair called it quits Tuesday in reaction to Monday’s 5-to-2 vote by the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education to keep traditional winter-sports seasons next year despite a year-round school schedule.

“I said I wouldn’t coach under these circumstances, and that hasn’t changed,” Shair said. “I’m gone.”

Year-round school, designed to combat overcrowding in some district schools, will begin July 1 for six of the district’s 49 high schools. The other 43 schools are not considered to be overpopulated and will not be open year-round. Still, they must adhere to the year-round format while classes are in session from mid-August to mid-December and from mid-February to mid-June.

There will be an eight-week break--the traditional two weeks for Christmas vacation plus an additional six weeks--from Dec. 21-Feb. 17, when boys’ and girls’ basketball, boys’ and girls’ soccer, and wrestling are in full swing.

Shair, 54, was one of three local City boys’ basketball coaches who said in February that he would not coach over the break even if he was financially compensated, but he was the only one who appeared to be sticking to his guns when the board cast its vote Monday.

“I’m past the point where I was doing it for money,” Shair said. “It goes deeper than that. They are just asking too much from the coaches and the athletes. Vacation time is important to me, and now it’s basically been cut in half. . . . I’ve been coaching for a long time, and I’m kind of burned out. I feel like I haven’t been working as well with kids in the last few years as I should have. This is just the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Granada Hills’ Bob Johnson was another coach who initially said that he would not coach over the break, but he changed his mind.

“I just felt like (the coaches) had to take a stand,” Johnson said of his initial reaction. “But I’ll be back. I enjoy coaching too much to quit. . . . But we can’t be expected to coach (over the six-week period) for free.”

According to City Section Commissioner Hal Harkness, Johnson and his peers will be paid for their efforts.

The board voted Monday to provide an additional $1,237,809 to the district’s athletic budget. Approximately half of that has been allocated for transportation of athletes to practices and competitions during the break, and $305,000 has been earmarked to pay the 185 coaches in the five winter sports.

“Vacation time is very important to coaches and I understand that,” Harkness said. “But the coaches will be financially compensated for their efforts. I don’t expect them to work for free.”