Move Creates Problems for Ocean View Baseball Coach

Steve Barrett, who led Ocean View High School to two Sunset League baseball titles in the past three seasons, is now pinch-hitting at Huntington Beach High.

After his first day at school, Barrett was told by Ocean View Principal Carla Rush that he was being moved to rival Huntington Beach to teach five science classes.

District schools increased their class sizes and an instructor with a teaching certificate was needed to teach five Life Science courses at Huntington Beach. Barrett, lowest in seniority, already had been moved from the science department to resident substitute at Ocean View.

“It was a shock,” said Barrett, who was beginning his fifth year at Ocean View. “I’m now a volunteer, coaching a 55-minute workout every day at Ocean View for no pay. My timetable changed, having to go from one school to another. But it’s status quo.

“I’ve gone from a real good situation to a real poor one. Nobody is happy with the deal.”

Barrett had taught four periods at Ocean View and was finished in the classroom at noon. Now, he’s teaching at Huntington Beach until 3 p.m., then coaching a baseball class at Ocean View at 3:30.

“I ask myself every day, ‘Is this worth it?’ ” Barrett said. “The only thing that keeps me going every day is the kids. I understand it’s the nature of the business and a sign of the times, but what about these kids who have been working so hard for four years? They’re the ones being cheated.”

Rush said she promised Barrett that she will get him a sixth-period release next semester so he can prepare for games at Ocean View when the season begins in March.

“I have no control over scheduling or forced transfers, but I’m going to get him a (sixth-period) release period from Huntington Beach in the second semester,” Rush said.