Judy Collins has been taking photos of Van Nuys football players and other teams free of charge during the past 28 years.
Collins, a grandmother whose two sons graduated from Van Nuys, enjoyed helping capture key moments for families for decades until she was informed Friday she could no longer take photographs despite completing an extension application that complied with Los Angeles Unified School District volunteer policies.
Football coach Ken Osorio played with one of Collins’ sons years ago at Van Nuys and tried to figure out what was wrong when he noticed Collins was instructed to leave her usual post earlier this season. Osorio and the school’s athletic director Dion Coley invited her to apply to be a voluntary coach to satisfy any concerns about her presence on the football sidelines.
She paid $80 and passed a CPR class and $20 for a TB screening. She got finger printed and went through a background check. She originally was going to pay several hundred dollars for a vendor’s license even though she gives away her photos for free, the group decided becoming a voluntary coach would be the quicker way to satisfy LAUSD requirements.
After completing all the paper work, she was told assistant principal in charge of athletics, Martin Tate, had to meet her. Collins said she attempted multiple times to reach the assistant principal via phone or in person at a game. She could not find him.
Collins said she went to the team’s game on Friday and started taking photos when Tate confronted her and asked her to leave the field. Asked why, Collins said Tate told her, “I’m just following the principal’s order.”
The principal is on administrative leave, a point Collins noted to Tate, but it did not change his instruction to leave.
Collins proceeded to walk to the visitor’s side and sat by a bench taking photos until Tate approached her at halftime and asked her to leave.
Los Angeles Unified School District’s communication office did not respond to a request for comment.
Collins said she had never had issues taking photos since she started until this year.
Osorio said she is a “very sweet lady who has been supporting Van Nuys for years.”
The Van Nuys athletic director confirmed Collins completed the volunteer coach application and has begun taking photos for Panorama High while she waits to learn whether she’ll be allowed to resume her work at Van Nuys.
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