Parents’ Efforts Will Pay Off at Last for Volleyball Coaches

VENTURA — After weeks of lobbying by parents and players, the Ventura Unified School District voted Tuesday to pay stipends for boys’ volleyball coaches at Buena and Ventura highs.

By a 5-0 vote, the board moved to appropriate $7,575 for the current school year. The boys’ volleyball season runs from February through May.

The school board currently pays all coaches in all sports except walk-on assistants and boys’ volleyball coaches at Buena and Ventura. Parents and players previously raised about $5,000 each season for varsity and junior varsity coaches through fund-raisers.

Mike Russell, who gave up the boys’ coaching job at Ventura to become coach of the girls’ team, was among 40 parents and students who voiced support at the meeting.

“(Boys’ coaches) go out and they fund-raise like crazy and they don’t really see the rewards of their labors,” Russell said.

Steve Berk, boys’ coach at Buena the past season, likewise was pleased with the decision.

“I had never experienced fund-raising at that level before,” Berk said.

Superintendent Joseph Spirito said asking coaches to conduct fund-raisers was “not the way to do business.

“We were asking for coaches to come in and not know where their salary is coming from,” Spirito said. “They were selling cakes or (conducting) carwashes.”