Villa Park’s Burton Resigns; He’ll Coach in Washington

Chris Burton, basketball coach at Villa Park High School, resigned Tuesday, Athletic Director Frank Becker said.

Burton, who was the Spartans’ coach for one season, accepted an assistant coaching position at a high school in Gig Harbor, Wash.

“Both myself and my wife have family up there,” Burton said. “It was a tough decision. I really enjoyed Villa Park High School.”

Under Burton, the Spartans finished third in the Century League and had an record of 11-12. He also coached at Fullerton three seasons, leading the Indians to two Freeway League titles. Burton was 41-31 at Fullerton.

Although he said he liked working at Villa Park, Burton said he had been frustrated by the recent cutbacks in the Orange Unified School District.

The district cut coaching stipends by 50% in August. Coaches responded with a three-day boycott of their duties.

A compromise was worked out, which restored many of the stipends to full funding but cut other areas in athletics. Basketball was one of the programs cut; it lost one level--either freshman, sophomore or junior varsity--at each of the district’s four high schools.

“The oxymoron of California’s education system has gotten to me,” Burton said. “I think a lot of people around here are frustrated. I was just lucky enough to be able to move on.”

Becker said the school is accepting applications. He said the job might include a teaching position.