Valencia High Baseball Coach’s Teaching Status Questioned By Parents

Posted by: Perry Smith in William S. Hart Union School District August 7, 2014 - 1:37 pm 0 161 Views

Hart district officials remained tight-lipped Thursday about their investigation into allegations against former Valencia High baseball head coach Jared Snyder.

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“Jared Snyder continues to be on administrative leave,” said Gail Pinsker, Hart district spokeswoman. “The concerns discussed last semester are still under review by the district.”

Snyder, Valencia High’s head baseball coach for the last 16 years until a midseason change, took a leave of absence in March as district officials conducted an investigation into a parental complaint.

An initial investigation into a parent’s accusation that there was a misappropriation of funds revealed there might be evidence to support the allegation, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. However, law enforcement officials have not been involved in the situation, and no charges or investigation by law enforcement officials has been initiated.

Snyder is still on the district’s payroll while the investigation is underway, Pinsker said.

Related: Hart District Still Investigating Valencia High Baseball Coach Jared Snyder

Interest in the situation was renewed by parents who saw Snyder’s name on their child’s class schedule and expressed concern, contacting KHTS AM-1220 this week.

Melissa Fanfassian, of Valencia, said she asked her daughter to transfer to a different history course when she learned he was the listed instructor.

“I didnt want to take the risk of that guy teaching my daughter,” said Fanfassian, who added she already a son who had taken Snyder’s history class.

A district official confirmed Snyder’s name did appear on the schedules, but did not say if he would be returning to the classroom.

“Mr. Snyder is listed as a teacher on student class schedules,” Pinsker said, “however, a substitute teacher will be handling his classes as we begin the new school year on Aug. 14.”

Related: Valencia High Baseball Coach Jared Snyder Takes Leave Of Absence

Mike Killinger, a former assistant of Snyder’s, was hired as head baseball coach in May.

Snyder was hired as the school’s baseball coach in 1998, according to school officials.

“Snyder, a Nichols State alumnus (1993), has built Valencia into one of the perennial powers in Southern California,” according to information on the school’s site before the coaching change. “He has taken probably one of the worst facilities in California and turned it into one of the top in the nation.”

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