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NEW CUMBERLAND -- The Hancock County Board of Education approved a new athletic coaches hiring policy Monday, with a few changes based on comments offered by the public during the meeting.
As part of the policy, a school's principal will have the authority to hire assistant coaches for their school, but with input from a team's head coach. Coaches also will be evaluated annually, also with input from the head coach.
Schools would be expected to offer an athletic program if a coach is hired for a particular sport.
The policy had been tabled during the school board's March 26 meeting after residents expressed concerns, including one parent who felt it should be up to a program's head coach to hire assistant coaches.
Board member Larry Shaw, himself a former head wrestling coach, addressed Superintendent Tim Woodward over the hiring decision process, and expressed concern that should Woodward leave in the future and be replaced by another superintendent, the principal would make the decision without the head coach giving input.
"My concern is that if you leave and another superintendent comes in, the principal would just nilly-willy hire a coach without any input from the coach," Shaw said. "Those middle school coaching positions are what we need in that if the wrong person is in the position, that affects the head coach at the high school level's ability to retain kids, maybe have a successful program.
"I have seen it work both ways through the decades that I have been here in that sometimes you have a middle school coach that doesn't really want to work with the high school program or the high school coach. It could have an impact whether you have a success."
Shaw said that since reviewing the policy, the board had done "a good job" in cleaning up the matter, but expressed concern that the board would have to revisit the policy in the future.
Board member Tim Reinard expressed concern over whether a coaching position was filled, but the athletic program wasn't available.
"Each middle school would have football, cheerleading, volleyball, basketball, wrestling and track," Reinard said.
Ultimately, the board agreed to alter the provision so the school would offer the program if a coach is hired.
With the approved changes, the policy was approved with a 5-0 vote.
Meanwhile, the board did not take any action on a policy involving bus drivers' use of epinephrine autoinjector devices for students, and will review that at the next regular board meeting
(Rappach can be contacted at srappach@reviewonline.com)