[catscards]

50 rally in Winchester in support of fired football coach
By Jim Warren — [email]jwarren@herald-leader.com[/email]

Posted: 10:23pm on May 29, 2012; Modified: 7:40am on May 30, 2012

WINCHESTER — About 50 people held a rally Tuesday night, leveling various complaints against Clark County Public Schools Superintendent Elaine Farris.

The hastily organized gathering grew out of continuing unhappiness among some people over the dismissal of Paul Columbia as head football coach at George Rogers Clark High School in December. Columbia says he was fired about three months after Farris sent him text messages questioning the amount of playing time he was giving her grandson.

Columbia, 54, who continues to be an assistant principal at George Rogers Clark, contends he wasn't treated fairly.

Speaking at the rally, Columbia's wife, Patti Columbia, called for Farris to resign or be fired.

"I want to clearly state I didn't come out here to get her to behave; I want her to be fired, I want her to resign," Patti Columbia said. "I think she needs to go."

Reached by phone Tuesday night, Farris said that complaints Patti Columbia has made against her are untrue and that she was a victim of a "personal vendetta" by the former coach's wife.

The outdoor gathering at the high school walking track included parents, some former teachers and representatives from the Kentucky Education Association.

Paul Columbia said he was pleased by the turnout but saw little chance of being reinstated now. Asked if he feared the rally might cause him to lose his job as assistant principal, he said there was "nothing illegal" about the gathering.

"After 30 years in coaching, to be called in and told you're being terminated ... it isn't the right way to treat somebody," he said.

Read more here:
http://www.kentucky.com/2012/05/29/22053...pport.html

[nky]

This sounds awful, it sounds repugnant, it sounds vindictive by a superintendent to a coach

BUT

Is it illegal, is it wrong........not really. Coaches are hired to be fired, they do not earn tenure, they can be fired with out cause at anytime. The superintendent does not have to give a reason. Now by burning bridges and calling her out he better make sure he has his ducks are in a row for his real job because he's just brought the spotlight on himself in a big way.

[HAT51]

This sounds awful, it sounds repugnant, it sounds vindictive by a superintendent to a coach

BUT

Is it illegal, is it wrong........not really. Coaches are hired to be fired, they do not earn tenure, they can be fired with out cause at anytime. The superintendent does not have to give a reason. Now by burning bridges and calling her out he better make sure he has his ducks are in a row for his real job because he's just brought the spotlight on himself in a big way.

Would be nice to know the reason he was fired. What was her reason?

[School Admin.]

If he has copies of the alleged text messaged conversation regarding her grandson, he has a serious case.......

[nky]

If he has copies of the alleged text messaged conversation regarding her grandson, he has a serious case.......

not really. Again a coach can be let go at any time with out being given a reason. There is no legal protection for a coaching position

[nky]

Would be nice to know the reason he was fired. What was her reason?

Doesn't matter

[Tica]

Ky is an "at will" state, meaning unless you have an employment contract or are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the merit system, or have tenure (coaches do not have tenure outside the classroom) then you serve at the will of the person(s) who hired you. There are a few exceptions: sexual harassment, civil rights, etc. - but they usually end up being litigated.

[School Admin.]

not really. Again a coach can be let go at any time with out being given a reason. There is no legal protection for a coaching position

I understand what you are saying, but that isn't absolute. A boss doesn't have the authority or right to pressure any employee into doing something wrong. A text message conversation along those lines is totally inappropriate. I think it would be big problems for her.

[nky]

inappropriate maybe but still she can fire the coach. I was involved with something like this in the early 1990's

[FMSbball]

How about the fact he only won 3 games this past season and 5 in 2010. Maybe that is why he was let go..........

[School Admin.]

inappropriate maybe but still she can fire the coach. I was involved with something like this in the early 1990's

If you want to get technical about it, the principal is the one who is supposed to recommend non-renew, not the super. Plus, I'm telling you right now, if Ferris had a text-message conversation with Columbia about her grandson and playing time and she let him go, he has a political retaliation and Federal Whistle blower lawsuit against her and the Clark Co. Board, mark it down!

[Tica]

If such texting occurred and that resulted in his dismissal, I would think the Education Professional Standards Board would have an interest in it. They have been tasked with policing education ethics.

http://www.kyepsb.net/legal/index.asp

[nky]

If you want to get technical about it, the principal is the one who is supposed to recommend non-renew, not the super. Plus, I'm telling you right now, if Ferris had a text-message conversation with Columbia about her grandson and playing time and she let him go, he has a political retaliation and Federal Whistle blower lawsuit against her and the Clark Co. Board, mark it down!

Superintendent is the ultimate boss in the school district. The chain of command would be AD, Principal, Superintendent. It's a football coaching position..... don't make a federal case out of it:biggrin: (which I don't think would ultimately fly anyway)

[nky]

If you want to get technical about it, the principal is the one who is supposed to recommend non-renew, not the super. Plus, I'm telling you right now, if Ferris had a text-message conversation with Columbia about her grandson and playing time and she let him go, he has a political retaliation and Federal Whistle blower lawsuit against her and the Clark Co. Board, mark it down!

by the way in my situation I was an assistant and The superintendent fire the head coach after we lost in the second round in the playoffs because the coach didn't take the superintendent's "advice" more though out the season

[School Admin.]

Superintendent is the ultimate boss in the school district. The chain of command would be AD, Principal, Superintendent. It's a football coaching position..... don't make a federal case out of it:biggrin: (which I don't think would ultimately fly anyway)

I'm not trying to make a Federal Case out of it, but in situations like these, that's where it ends up. I have been in administration for a number of years and if you don't dot every i and cross every t, you're in trouble. Btw. you are correct about the Super being the boss in the district, but the law is VERY SPECIFIC about hiring, evaluation, and dismissal. A Super cannot interfere with the day-to-day operations of a school, unless a policy or law is being broken. Anyway, I guess you and I will have to agree to disagree on this. If Columbia has no text conversation record, he has no chance, if he does, he has a case.

[nky]

I'm not trying to make a Federal Case out of it, but in situations like these, that's where it ends up. I have been in administration for a number of years and if you don't dot every i and cross every t, you're in trouble. Btw. you are correct about the Super being the boss in the district, but the law is VERY SPECIFIC about hiring, evaluation, and dismissal. A Super cannot interfere with the day-to-day operations of a school, unless a policy or law is being broken. Anyway, I guess you and I will have to agree to disagree on this. If Columbia has no text conversation record, he has no chance, if he does, he has a case.

That's true in the education aspect of a school system. Coaching being an extra curricular activity is a different animal with out the tenure issue. I've experienced this type of heavy handedness from the Bigg Boss is it fair, morally right or just plain vindictive? either way not much of a case and if there is the courts can not give much of a resolution. By the way my Rank I is in school administration and I sometimes teach a school law course

[SlantStrong]

I don't know what can be accomplished now. New coach is already in place.

[wiseguy85]

I would think that the basis of her decision to fire coach Columbia goes to her ethics and decision making abilities as a superintendent. Just like other political offices, those strike at the very heart of office-how and what you base your decisions on. I would say if she used her office as a means of influence for her grandson then yes she needs to go. If he has had ongoing battles with her over everything, then he was out the door regardless. I feel that this is the heart of this issue.

[IAM22]

If he does have the text message and she tells him to play her grandson and he does not. Is that then insubordination on his part?

[MustangSally]

by the way in my situation I was an assistant and The superintendent fire the head coach after we lost in the second round in the playoffs because the coach didn't take the superintendent's "advice" more though out the season

Did you coach at Holmes in the early 1990's?

[nky]

Did you coach at Holmes in the early 1990's?

yes

[catscards]

-
Read more here:
http://www.kentucky.com/2012/06/19/22308...rings.html

WINCHESTER — A citizens group tried to submit a list of 10 demands to the Clark County Board of Education on Tuesday night, including calls for the resignations of two board members and an investigation of conditions in the school district.

But Joan Graves, spokeswoman for the group, Stand Up Clark County, was ruled out of order before she could submit the demands.

Graves spoke for several minutes, raising questions about Superintendent Elaine Farris' annual evaluation, which the board was to consider later in the meeting.

Board chairwoman Judy Hicks told Graves her time was running out. When Graves kept talking, Hicks immediately called a five-minute recess. The board meeting resumed after Graves left the room.

Stand Up Clark County organized over the past few months, mainly over the firing of Paul Columbia as football coach at George Rogers Clark High School last December. Columbia has said he was fired about two months after Farris sent him text messages questioning the playing time he was giving her grandson.

During a Stand Up rally last month, Columbia's wife, Patti Columbia, called for Farris to resign or be fired. Patti Columbia says the group has broadened its agenda to include general concerns about the school district.

About a dozen Stand Up members attended Tuesday night's board meeting.

[School Admin.]

Wow! Sounds like things are heating up in Clark Co. I think it was a mistake by the Board Chairperson to not let that group finish talking. Its been my experience that behaving that way only fuels the fire and swells the ranks.

[nky]

unless they're going to vote out school board this group is just making minor noice