Local football officials voted to boycott the 2023-24 high school football season, two weeks before CIF-South Section games were scheduled to kick off.
The vote from Unit I of the Southern California Soccer Officials Association, which serves schools from Goleta to Calabasas, in Oxnard Wednesday night, was unanimous.
Officials have expressed dissatisfaction with their salaries since the CIF-SS approved a new rate structure in January 2022 and threatened to stop work for more than a year.
“We are just following our plan that we announced on day one,” said Michael Harrison, secretary of Unit I. “On November 8, 2022, we said we would pursue all options…until it there are no other options left. We believe we have reached this point.
More than 100 referees gathered in a room in Oxnard to discuss the situation.
“The whole meeting was about this topic, explaining where we are and how we got here,” Harrison said.
While the new hourly system provided significant raises to officials in football ($51), baseball ($21), basketball ($15) and softball ($10) over a three-year period, Football referees — who entered the cycle as the highest-paid officials — essentially received no pay raise.
The hourly rate of $35.56 over approximately 2.25 hours of work represents a single cent increase from the previous flat rate of $80. Assistant referees actually received a half-cent discount from their previous fee of $68.
The latest fee structure has already led to one arbitration organization refusing to work. After initially getting a raise of just $2, the Southern California Lacrosse Officials Association stopped work in the spring of 2022 and returned to work with a 26% raise.
Unable to initiate discussions with the CIF-SS, the referees went directly to local schools in September, meaning they would charge $105 per game this coming season, increasing to $130 in 2025-26, while assistant referees would earn $85 this season, increasing to $85. $100..
“As independent contractors, we have the right to determine our rates for our services,” unit president Nico Esquivel wrote to the schools. “As a recipient of the service, you have the right to recruit your own officials if you do not approve of the rate of the service.”
But the CIF-SS told schools they were not allowed to deviate from their tuition structure.
“We’re told you can’t pay more,” Camarillo Principal Matt La Belle said.
Arbitrators and administrators are divided on whether both sides were involved in the development of the hourly rate system announced by the CIF-SS last year.
“We’re being accused of going back on a contract that doesn’t exist,” Harrison said. “Schools tell parents. Parents say we are the problem, based on what schools have told them, but none of that is true.
North Region athletic directors plan to meet virtually Wednesday morning to discuss their options.
“It’s terrible,” Oak Park girls soccer coach Kathryn Klamecki said. “These seniors had a COVID season their freshman year. I hope the CIF or the referees change. It just hurts the kids.
The Star asked Moorpark High athletic director Rob Dearborn and Camarillo High principal Matt La Belle, who are on the CIF-SS officials committee, for comment. CIF-SS Deputy Commissioner Thom Simmons responded Tuesday afternoon.
“Our position has not changed since the CIF-SS Council voted nearly 80 percent in favor of adopting the current rate structure,” Simmons said. “Moreover, as we have painfully stated to the football officials who are taking this action, there is nothing in our governance structure that allows this office to grant a pay increase to individuals making the decision to boycott games.
“The new process begins in August to review the next three-year cycle and these civil servants will have the opportunity to request a further salary increase during this process.”
The CIF-SS football season is scheduled to begin on November 13.
Joe Curley covers football for The Star. He can be reached at [email protected]. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter, Instagram And Facebook.
