Parentdirected "club" lacrosse teams will be transformed into an official California Interscholastic Federation sport at Agoura High next year.

Junior varsity and varsity teams were approved by the Las Virgenes Unified School District Board of Education on May 12.

The threeyear pilot program will start next spring, and will be funded by the parents who launched the club sport four years ago, said Mike Tusing, president of the Agoura Lacrosse Association.

"I am pleased we are at this point," Tusing told school board members at the board meeting.

After four years operating the program, Tusing said parents know "exactly what (the) costs are."

Demand for lacrosse teams has grown over the years, Tusing said. When the private club started, 33 high school students participated. Today, more than 650 students in the region play lacrosse, he said.

The third and fourthgrade students currently playing lacrosse on club teams will be the "feeder system" for the sport, Tusing said, adding that he foresees enough student interest in the game for teams to be fielded into perpetuity.

"Finding that light in financial darkness," he said, will allow the sport to thrive at Agoura High.

The $28,000 yearly cost for the program is expected to rise to $30,000 by year three of the pilot program, said another parent.

"Lacrosse is a wonderful sport, and I have benefited tremendously from it," said Tusing's son, Mitch, a senior at AHS and longtime lacrosse player.

Parent Ziona Friedlander said that despite budget constraints, the school district manages to provide "exceptional education to every student."

Sports, she said, were one such avenue.

Board member Cindy Iser said she was "fully supportive of the program." The school board approved the program, 5-0.