VENTURA : Board May Reassign School Officials

The Ventura school board will on Tuesday consider reassigning some of the top officials at Ventura High School and replacing them with administrators who will improve the school’s tarnished image.

Supt. Joseph Spirito said he will ask the board to approve moving three to five of the school’s administrators to other posts in the district. But he declined to say whether the list includes Principal Jerry Barshay.

Besides Barshay, Ventura has two assistant principals--Helena Torrez-Reaves and Diane Wootton--and one acting assistant principal, Robert Beem.

All of the administrators moved from Ventura High will get other jobs in the district, and their new positions will not constitute demotions, Spirito said.

Rather than punishing the school officials, Spirito said he just wants to replace them with other district employees who are better at public relations and will help improve the school’s image.

Although Ventura High’s scores on the latest statewide assessment test were better than Buena High’s in some areas, it has suffered for years from a public perception that it is academically inferior to its cross-town rival.

And Ventura High has been beset by problems in recent years, including the conviction last year of football coach Harvey Kochel for having sex with a 15-year-old student and the suspension without pay of swim coach Dale Hahn over similar allegations.

More recently, Ventura High students have been involved in some widely publicized racial incidents.

Some of the charges against both Kochel and Hahn stemmed from incidents that allegedly occurred before Barshay took over as principal three years ago.

“I’m not looking for a scapegoat and I’m not looking for a fall person,” Spirito said.