Culver City Observer -

Chabola to Retire From Teaching Only

Plans to Continue As Culver Athletic Director

Jerry Chabola, who has been at Culver City High for 22 years, has announced he will retire from teaching classes.

Around town, there’s been a misconception that he’s also retiring as athletic director.

“That’s not correct,” Chabola told The Observer on Tuesday. “I’m going to be the athletic director, but without the teaching duties I won’t have quite as rigid a schedule.

“When I do something I put everything into it, and giving up teaching will allow me to focus more on my other duties.”

Chabola will assist in rearranging teaching assignments for others.

He joined the Culver City School District in 1990 and became athletic director in 1994. He has coached various sports and become a community leader. He also founded the school’s Booster Club.

Chabola and his wife, Janet, have six grandchildren and they enjoy traveling. It’s been thought he would retire from everything, focus on family matters and travel more often.

“We do plan to travel when we can but I’ll still be at the school often,” he said.

At the January 24 School Board meeting, colleagues had some fun with Chabola.

School Board representative Dave Mielke made an apparently serious speech advising Board members to vote against an item on the agenda.

“The item was the resignation of Jerry Chabola,” he recalls.

His talk was followed by Board President Scott Zeidman, who also recommended voting against the item.

He said Chabola was too valuable to retire but could ask again in 10 years.

It was all in fun.

Chabola is a hands-on athletic director, not someone who merely sits in his office.

I attended a recent Culver City High basketball game and afterward, at 10 pm after the fans departed, Chabola and former football coach Tom Salter were putting things away, getting the gym ready for the next day.