The fair and just treatment of Staples High School athletic coaches, the role of parental involvement in Board of Education decisions, and the impartiality of an outside arbiter were among the topics discussed at this morning’s BOE Policy Committee meeting.
More than a dozen residents attended the session, in a small Town Hall meeting room.
The turnout — perhaps the largest ever for the Policy Committeee — was driven by recent decisions to not renew contracts for several Staples coaches.
Currently the Board of Ed, or a sub-committee of members, hears appeals by coaches if their contracts are not renewed.
From left: Board of Education member and Policy Committee chair Kevin Christie; assistant superintendent of human resources John Bayers; Board of Ed chair Lee Goldstein, and BOE member Dorie Hordon, at today’s meeting in Town Hall. (Photo/Dan Woog)
A change, added to the Policy Commitee’s agenda earlier this week, would add an option for the BOE to appoint an “impartial hearing board” of 1 or more people.
Policy Committee chair Kevin Christie explained that this change would bring the appeals process in line with other appeals to the board, over issues like expulsion or residency.
During public comment, residents noted that those appeals involve individual students, while decisions on coaches affect teams with dozens of athletes.
A broader question was raised, regarding the role of Board of Education members in personnel issues. Policy Committee members and residents debated whether the BOE, as elected officials, should listen to public input about coaches, then render an impartial verdict, or if someone impartial could do a fairer job.
That raised the question of the impartiality of an outside individual. Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice said that person would be selected from a group of attorneys who regularly do such work.
Committee member Dorie Hordon wondered how impartial those outside arbiters might be. They are hired by the superintendent and paid by the school district, she noted. How often do they not affirm his or her decision?
Policy Committee member and BOE chair Lee Goldstein said that although the public should have input in how the athletic director runs his department, it should not have a say in hiring and firing.
“It is dangerous,” she noted, for either the public or administrators to try to pressure the board, one way or the other.
Hordon injected the idea of treating coaches “justly and fairly” into the discussion.
“I understand the reasoning, but I’m not sure about changing the policy,” she said.
“If we are elected by the community, the community has trusted us to make decisions.”
Resident Joan Gillman urged the Board of Education to focus on “how we can best set up our employees for success.” That includes written reviews about ways to improve, and “a chance for a clear change of direction” before non-renewal.
No decision was reached. Christie and his colleagues said they need time to reflect on the change.
Any policy change would need at least one more discussion in committee, then at least two public discussions by the full Board of Education.