The large crowd gathered Friday in the Town Hall auditorium had plenty of questions.
Would they be able to speak in support of Kris Hrisovulos, the multi-state champion-winning Staples High School boys tennis coach, as he appealed the non-renewal of his contract by Westport administrators?
What would the Board of Education — the group hearing Hrisovulos’ appeal — think about the reasons given for non-renewal?
Would some of the underlying elements of the case — a complaint by a parent not made through the usual chain of command, for example — be discussed openly?
Staples tennis players were among the large crowd at Friday’s Town Hall hearing.
None of those questions were answered.
After more than 2 hours of debate, the board reached a consensus. The appeal hearing ended, because Hrisovulos had not been given timely, proper and legal notice that his contract was not being renewed.
What the hearing did reveal, however — through questions that were raised, and others that were not, yet loomed unasked over the proceedings — was a number of flaws in Athletic Department policies and procedures.
They include:
- Evaluation of coaches by superiors.
- Expectations of, and training provided to, coaches.
- Support given to coaches by administrators.
- Expectations of parents regarding the role of interscholastic athletics, and the coaches of those sports.
- Handling of complaints made by parents, particularly those that go outside the defined chain of command (coach first, then athletic director, principal, and finally superintendent).
- Process for timely, thorough investigations, including input from student-athletes.
- Communication with, and respect shown to, student-athletes and their parents.
- Transparent discussions of conflicts of interest.
One positive consequence of Hrisovulos’ long and expensive battle to retain his job as tennis coach is this: Superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice, Staples principal Stafford Thomas and athletic director VJ Sarullo have an opportunity now to refocus their relationships with coaches, athletes and parents.
They can re-examine policies regarding the hiring, supervision and evaluation of coaches. They can re-set expectations of when, where and how parents can make complaints known — and how to react once a complaint is made.
They can acknowledge the excellent work being done by so many coaches, in so many ways, for such low pay. They can celebrate coaches’ accomplishments, on and off the field and court — and help them improve in areas where it’s needed.
That’s what a team does.
And that’s how they win: together.
