It also stinks that the Athletic Director is not being quoted. The chain of command with the superintendent doing all the talking is ugly.
Furthermore, I don't like that the policy that they NEVER talk about personnel matters to the media. The guy worked with great reviews for the district for decades. There are no problems. The professional reply is to be honest. Say something like, "Neil Gordon has been a great coach. He has done nothing wrong on the job. There has been no cause for termination nor ethical fumble on his part at all -- not in the slightest."
Clear the air on the history with people who have done good -- if not great -- jobs in the past.
Part of leadership is about management of the future. The board has the right to open positions as contracts expire. But objectives can be set. New measures can be recorded. Performances can be supervised.
Notebook: Parents at root of Gordon decision: "Vecchio also claimed some district residents are unhappy because Gordon hasn't won enough championships and that he was looking to become Penn-Trafford's coach.I'm going to take a leap of assumption here and blame a few parents for kicking up a storm in that situation. It generally boils down to some out of control parents.
When told Penn-Trafford's coaching position isn't open, Vecchio said, 'Well that's what we've been told.'
Furthermore, the parents are not able to be put back into good places because the school administrators are so weak. The administrators are not grounded. They have little minds and little capacity to talk about values and character and lessons of life.
Schools today are in such a mess. I heap most of the blame on school administrators. And, those at the top are the one's who have the biggest burden.
Of course everything is political too. The school boards are bonkers in many situations.
TV news by Mary Robb Jackson
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Notebook: Parents at root of Gordon decision
Friday, January 18, 2008
The president of the Penn Hills school board said Neil Gordon's football coaching position was opened because Gordon hasn't won enough WPIAL championships and because the board is listening to some parents who want a new coach.
The Penn Hills board decided Monday night to open Gordon's position, and Gordon was informed of the decision Tuesday by Penn Hills superintendent Patricia Gennari. Gordon, who had a 156-74-2 record in 21 seasons, said he hasn't been told of the reasons his job was opened.
But school board president Erin Vecchio said: "There is no personal agenda here with anyone on the board. We're being told by parents and kids that they want to look in a new direction. I'm basing my opinions on what they're telling me. We represent the community."
Vecchio also claimed some district residents are unhappy because Gordon hasn't won enough championships and that he was looking to become Penn-Trafford's coach.
When told Penn-Trafford's coaching position isn't open, Vecchio said, "Well that's what we've been told."
Gordon's teams won the WPIAL and PIAA championships in 1995 and another was in the WPIAL AAAA title game in 2006.
His record in the past seven seasons is 61-19, and he has won five conference championships and made the playoffs 10 years in a row.
When asked if that wasn't enough, Vecchio said: "I don't know. People are telling me it's not. I'd like to see a championship, too. But I don't think that's the whole reason we're here."
Vecchio said all nine board members agreed Gordon's position should be opened. She also said some parents complained Gordon doesn't push his kids enough to college coaches. But many of Gordon's players have gone on to play college football, a number of them at the Division I level, and a few in the NFL.
Both Vecchio and Donald Kuhn Jr., another board member, said Gordon can reapply for his job.
"My opinion was just to open the position, get some interviews and see if anyone would be interested in the job, including Neil Gordon if he so desired," Kuhn said.
Gordon said: "The thing about this is people are going to read articles and say, 'I wonder what he did.' I didn't do anything to deserve this."
The school board decision was not made in a vote at a public meeting.
When Gennari was asked if she recommended Gordon be kept, she said: "Now we're into kind of the back-room stuff. I don't know if I'm comfortable with that. I tend not to deal with personnel issues publicly."
When asked if athletic director John Peterman made a recommendation for Gordon to be kept, Gennari said, "That would come through me because I deal with the board."
She also said Gordon must formally reapply for the job, even though he already had sent a letter to the board stating that he wanted to keep it.
Gennari said applicants will be accepted for Gordon's job until Feb. 1. Those employed inside the district who are interested must apply by next Thursday.
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