Hair-Raising Effort Nets $550 for Athletics

When Bob Brisbine went from Grizzly Adams to cleanshaven, his mom was pleased.

“It looks 100% better,” Violet Brisbine said.

But the lunch-time shearing of Brisbine’s flowing hair and shaggy beard at John Charles Fremont Middle School in Oxnard was not staged for mom.

In August, Brisbine, one of the school’s assistant principals, pledged scissors and razors would not come near him for the duration of the school year if a group of teachers from the school managed to raise $500 for the school’s athletic programs.

On Thursday, dozens of students went up to the school’s outdoor stage to trim locks off the school official as their peers cheered. The teachers presented a check for $550 that Brisbine donated to Fremont’s athletic fund.

Brisbine said he has received surprised comments from school board members and district officials throughout the year. But when they found out the reason for his looks, administrators were supportive, Brisbine said.

“Students joke with me, and it relaxed the atmosphere at the school,” Brisbine said.

Jordan Corpuz was one of the students who bought a $1 ticket for the privilege of trimming the administrator’s hair.

“Even though it didn’t last long, it was fun,” 12-year-old Jordan said as he jumped down from the stage. “Kids like him.”

After the shearing, Violet Brisbine, who came to the school to witness the shearing, was happy to be able see her son’s face again.

“On Mother’s Day, I wanted to disown him,” she said. “But I couldn’t do it. It was for a good cause.”

And unlike Samson, who lost his strength after losing his hair, Brisbine said he felt unchanged--and a little lighter.

“It’s always the same old me,” he said.