City Section cuts seven coaching stipends

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Because of a more than $2-million cut in the Los Angeles Unified School District athletic budget, City Section schools will lose seven assistant coaching stipends for the 2011-12 school year, according to Barbara Fiege, the City Section Commissioner. The cuts only affect district schools and not charter schools.

Funding will be taken away for the boys’ and girls’ freshman-sophomore basketball coach, plus assistants in cross-country, swimming, track and two of the six football coaching positions.

It will be up to schools whether to continue having freshman-sophomore basketball teams. Schools are expected to raise funds to keep paying for football positions that will lose funding.

‘It moves responsibility from the district to the head coach,’ San Fernando football Coach Tom Hernandez said. ‘We’ll fundraise.’

Last year, the athletic program received emergency funding of $1.4 million from corporate donations. Fiege said with cuts coming to teachers and librarians, ‘the athletic program had to make reductions.’

-- Eric Sondheimer