City Coaches Deserve Raise, Respect

Coaches in the Los Angeles Unified School District have finally reached the point of shouting, “Enough!”

The Interscholastic Athletic Committee voted two weeks ago to extend the City Section football playoff season from four weeks to five so administrators, bus drivers and school police officers could have Thanksgiving weekend off. Coaches, however, won’t be paid a penny more for their extra week of work.

“There has to be a time where you draw a line in the sand and say, ‘No more.’ This is it,” said Birmingham High football Coach Dave Lertzman. “We’re not doing anything more for free.”

City coaches last received a raise in 1989. Before that, the last increase was 1983. Their pay scale ranks 43rd out of 47 Los Angeles County school districts, according to an LAUSD survey.

The highest stipend for a City coach is $1,785. A football coach in the Conejo Valley Unified School District with 12 years experience makes $3,544, almost double a City coach. The nearby Conejo, Simi Valley and William S. Hart districts all pay their coaches additional money for playoff competition.

In the City, whether a football team goes 0-10 or 14-0, there’s no extra pay for postseason competition.

“I think it’s before the Flintstones,” Reseda football

Coach Joel Schaeffer said of the City pay scale. “It’s an embarrassment. We’re being abused and taken for granted.”

United Teachers of Los Angeles, the district’s bargaining unit, has asked the Board of Education to reopen contract negotiations to discuss the coaches’ pay issue.

The board is scheduled to meet Monday in closed session to receive advice from staff attorneys. The staff isn’t likely to support the request from UTLA for fear other factions would seek similar renegotiations.

Does the board really think it’s plausible for coaches to wait for a raise until the next contract negotiation in 2000?

Board member David Tokofsky, a former soccer coach at Marshall High, is a strong supporter of the coaches.

“If you give all the coaches a 30% raise, it would cost $450,000,” he said. “The district spends that much writing a mission statement.”

Coaches also have the backing of Barbara Fiege, the City Section commissioner.

“The coaches have not received a raise in many years,” Fiege said. “I believe it’s time for the district to review coaching stipends as well as the number of coaching positions.”

The City has just 23 salaried coaching positions. In the Simi Valley District alone, there are 76 positions for athletic stipends, ranging from assistant volleyball coach to freshman-sophomore baseball coach.

“Our school district supports our athletic program better than any other district in Southern California,” said Royal athletic director Terry Dobbins.

During the 1990s, LAUSD added ninth graders to its high school campuses but didn’t increase coaching positions. There are soccer coaches paid $1,202 who must teach more than 80 varsity and junior varsity players.

“You have third-world sports being paid third-world salaries,” Tokofsky said.

There was a time an opening for a coaching job in the LAUSD produced a long line of job applicants. Now, an opening is lucky to draw two to three candidates and sometimes none. Does LAUSD realize it’s letting a whole generation of young coaches slip away to other districts because of its meager pay scale?

IAC is expected to reconsider its decision to add a fifth week to the football playoffs. If not, the football coaches will almost certainly take action.

They’ve had enough.

The evidence is overwhelming that LAUSD has fallen behind the times in taking care of its coaches.

Coaches don’t expect to get rich with their stipends, but they do expect to be treated as professional teachers and instructors. All they ask for is a fair pay scale in a district recognized for producing some of the greatest athletes in American sports history. . . .

Tim Feirfeil of L.A. Baptist won the Alpha League track championship in the 100 and 200 meters. He also leads the baseball team in hitting and pitching. And it’s the same Feirfeil who caught a region-high 77 passes for 1,748 yards and 18 touchdowns in football. As Spike Lee would say, “He got game!” . . .

For weeks, I’ve thought junior Justin Wade of Taft was capable of having a breakthrough pitching performance. Last season, he showed great potential as a sophomore until breaking his elbow. Finally, on Friday against top-ranked Chatsworth, he used his curveball to throw a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts in a stunning 2-0 victory.

“When he gets that thing going, it’s a pretty good pitch,” Taft Coach Rich McKeon said of Wade’s curveball.

If this were summer, Wade would have celebrated by going surfing. Instead, he settled for going out to dinner with his twin brother, Josh, the catcher who called his pitches. Wade can learn from his Chatsworth experience to become a top pitcher for 1999. . . .

Word is spreading that freshman Colin Ward-Henninger of Buckley is no small-schools

baseball player. The 6-3 Ward-Henninger is hitting better than .500 as a third baseman. Next year, he’ll move to shortstop. Buckley Coach Dan Gilmartin said Ward-Henninger has the best skills of any Buckley player he’s coached in the past nine years. . . .

Ten members of Chatsworth’s top-ranked baseball team list snowboarding as their favorite hobby in the school media guide. Coach Tom Meusborn must have nightmares about broken legs in the off-season. . . .

Who’s a better one-on-one basketball player, Gilbert Arenas of Grant or Kent Dennis of Cleveland? Who’s the best dunker in the region? Who’s the best free-throw shooter? The “War on the Floor” individual tournament will take place June 27 and 28 at Chatsworth High.

Any boys’ or girls’ high school player from the region can enter for $5. The finals will be held at halftime of a City vs. Southern Section all-star game on June 28. Information: (818) 341-6411, ext. 1950. . . .

Crespi won its fifth Mission League baseball title in 12 years under Coach Scott Muckey. He’s the best coach around, and he doesn’t need to yell to get his players to follow directions.

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Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422.

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Cash Poor

City Section coaches have not received a pay raise since 1989. Here’s a comparison of the L.A. Unified School District pay scale with three nearby districts:

Sport: Football

LAUSD: $1,785

Simi Valley*: $2,589-$3,450

Conejo Valley**: $3,042-$3,544

William S. Hart***: $3,065-$3,831

*

Sport: Basketball

LAUSD: $1,785

Simi Valley*: $2,560-$3,278

Conejo Valley**: $2,661-$3,162

William S. Hart***: $2,554-$3,320

*

Sport: Baseball

LAUSD: $1,785

Simi Valley*: $2,201-$2,933

Conejo Valley**: $2,661-$3,162

William S. Hart***: $2,554-$3,320

*

Sport: Softball

LAUSD: $1,785

Simi Valley*: $2,201-$2,933

Conejo Valley**: $2,661-$3,162

William S. Hart***: $2,554-$3,320

*

Sport: Golf

LAUSD: $1,202

Simi Valley*: $1,683-$2,243

Conejo Valley**: $2,160-$2,661

William S. Hart***: $2,554-$3,320

*

Sport: Swimming

LAUSD: $1,202

Simi Valley*: $1,942-$2,588

Conejo Valley**: $2,661-$3,162

William S. Hart***: $2,043-$2,809

*

Sport: Tennis

LAUSD: $1,202

Simi Valley*: $1,942-$2,588

Conejo Valley**: $2,505-$3,006

William S. Hart***: $2,043-$2,809

*

Sport: Volleyball

LAUSD: $1,495

Simi Valley*: $2,201-$2,933

Conejo Valley**: $2,505-$3,006

William S. Hart***: $2,554-$3,320

*

Sport: Track

LAUSD: $1,495

Simi Valley*: $2,230-$3,105

Conejo Valley**: $2,661-$3,162

William S. Hart***: $2,554-$3,320

*

Sport: Cross-country

LAUSD: $1,202

Simi Valley*: $1,942-$2,588

Conejo Valley**: $2,484-$2,986

William S. Hart***: $2,043-$2,809

*

Sport: Soccer

LAUSD: $1,202

Simi Valley*: $1,942-$2,588

Conejo Valley**: $2,484-$2,986

William S. Hart***: $2,043-$2,809

*Simi Valley Unified District salaries are based on eight-step process. Coaches receive percentage increases each year, plus up to an additional $500 for teams involved in playoffs.

**Conejo Valley Unified School District coaches receive a maximum $220 for teams that advance to playoffs.

***William S. Hart Unified District coaches receive extra $160 for playoff participation.