Schools Are Paying Price for Coaches

With salaries and bonuses for college and professional football coaches soaring to $1 million and above, why shouldn’t a high school football coach earn $100,000?

The issue has received attention in the San Fernando Valley since rumors spread last winter that West Hills Chaminade was willing to pay $100,000 for its new football coach.

Ben McEnroe, the 32-year-old first-year coach for the Eagles, insists his salary isn’t close to that figure.

“I laugh at it,” he said. “I don’t think it’s anyone’s business, but I’m not making that much money. I know that’s going around, but let people talk.”

Chaminade received a $500,000 donation to improve its football coaching salaries. The school put out feelers last fall seeking interest from top coaches, and at least one candidate insists discussion reached the $100,000 figure when combining coaching and teaching.

Chaminade’s principal, Brother Tom Fahey, said there were discussions but no firm $100,000 offer. As for McEnroe’s earning $100,000, Fahey said, “I can tell you categorically it’s not even close.”

There’s good reason for Fahey to make it clear the $100,000 figure isn’t true because his science, biology, English and math teachers would be outraged. Of course, that would lead to a debate about why sports are so important compared to reading, writing and arithmetic.

Chaminade is trying to upgrade its football program after seasons of 3-7 and 2-8. The $500,000 donation, by a former parent who doesn’t want to be identified, is supposed to supplement football coaching salaries for three teams over an eight- to 10-year period. The donation allowed Chaminade to be aggressive in its coaching search.

“We knew we had a donation that would allow us to talk with anybody,” Fahey said. “We had the ability to pay them what they were making at their current school.”

McEnroe, who was an assistant coach at Humboldt State, said he feels no added pressure because of the extra money flowing into coaching salaries.

“My greatest motivator is me and my work ethic,” he said. “The pressure is to build the program and build it the right way. Performance is the bottom line, but people judge performance with different standards.”

High school athletics aren’t cheap for schools trying to create a college-like atmosphere. Thousands of dollars are being spent to upgrade facilities.

Funded by a bond measure, Ventura just completed a $1.9-million construction project that includes a synthetic football field and all-weather track.

FieldTurf was installed on the soccer/football practice field at Santa Margarita for $800,000. North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake received a $1-million donation from Ted Slavin, the parent of a former player, and installed FieldTurf and a new scoreboard and refurbished its track. La Canada received a $1.3-million donation from a soccer club to add FieldTurf and an all-weather track. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame put in an all-weather track for $350,000. Ventura Buena is building a football stadium.

With sports generating increasing interest, it should be pointed out that the highest salary for a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District is $72,247, not including overtime or stipends, according to United Teachers-Los Angeles. If a football coach were paid $100,000, it would ignite a debate of epic proportions.

“On the surface, it would be out of line in comparison with teachers’ salaries,” said Barbara Fiege, commissioner of the City Section.

There’s only one high school football coach in California who probably deserves a $100,000 salary, and that’s Bob Ladouceur of Concord De La Salle. His team has a 138-game win streak and hasn’t lost for 11 seasons.

Former Chaminade principal Gary Murphy, now a teacher in Simi Valley, said schools must guard against putting too much emphasis on athletics.

“If high school coaches are making twice what classroom teachers make, there’s something wrong,” he said. “I don’t begrudge anyone making money, but if we’re doing that for high school sports and not the biology teacher, what does that say?”

Let the debate begin on whether a high school football coach should earn $100,000, but don’t say McEnroe was the first to reach the figure.

“Not even with the $800 President Bush sent me [for child tax credit],” McEnroe said.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.