Two years ago, in the April 29, 2010 issue of the JagWire, our staff editorial was about the school board’s attempt to fire head basketball coach Justin Bogart following an investigation into parent complaints about their son’s playing time. We questioned why these few complaints were being taken so seriously.

We wrote that “situations like what happened to Bogart should simply not happen,” so when we learned that head volleyball coach Kim Service faces a similar fate, we were shocked. After a complicated situation involving a tournament on the day of the Homecoming dance and two parent complaints, Service claims she was cited for insubordination and her job was placed in limbo.

The problem is not that the parents are complaining; it is who they are complaining to. According to Service the complaints lodged against her were made directly to a School Board member. It is unreasonable that one or two parents can complain to a Board member, circumventing the evaluation process and causing an investigation.

While it is good that the district has a formal evaluation process, it is not being followed consistently. According to Service, the evaluation process was first presented in August by district athletic director Roland Van Wyhe as a list of general guidelines. During the season a formal document was presented. Three weeks after the season ended, Van Wyhe sent an email, saying he had made a mistake and the document was being replaced.

Service said the new evaluation form was much more comprehensive. We question how Service or any coach was supposed to make changes to her coaching when she was not informed of the criteria of her evaluation until her season was over.

Both of these issues create an environment of fear for coaches that is unacceptable. According to several sources, coaches are afraid to speak out against the district and the evaluation process because everything they say or do can be held against them. Offending one or two parents or a Board member can mean that their jobs are at stake.

We propose that the Board mandate a strict chain of command. Students should first and foremost try to work it out with the coach and take the responsibility of advocating for themselves. Next parents should go to the coach. If the parents are still unsatisfied they should go to the building athletic director and then the principal. Then they should lodge a complaint to the district athletic director. Then, when all other avenues have failed, they can go to the Board.

If an investigation is launched, it needs to be done in a timely manner. Head football coach George Radell resigned two years ago after he was told that the Board did not support him. The timing gave him a slim chance of finding another coaching position. Parents and players also have a right to know who will be in charge of the program in a timely fashion.

Also, the district needs to improve its communication with coaches. Service was informed the tournament in question would be made optional rather than required less than two hours before her players. Bogart was not told about his situation until two days before the meeting where he was supposed to defend himself.

In addition to following the hierarchy and improving communication, Board members should not be allowed such a heavy hand in a coach’s fate. According to Service, Board president Tammy Thomas impersonated her on the phone in order to cancel the tournament, and after feeling that the district took little action on the situation, Service filed charges. The prosecutor’s office found that there was not enough evidence for charges.

Instead of answering questions in regard to the situations with Service and Thomas, the district simply issued a statement to the JagWire. While we understand that the district cannot comment on personnel issues like Service’s, Thomas is an elected official and should be held accountable for all of her actions by those who elected her.

Bottom line, the Board needs to begin respecting its coaches. Once an evaluation process is presented to coaches, it should only be changed with the coaches’ consent. If an evaluation process is agreed upon, then let it do its job. The Board needs to let the district athletic director do his job. A parent complaint should not and cannot end a coaching career without having gone through an investigation that followed the proper channels. This has happened too many times, and it cannot happen again.