Coches Romero And Perryman Unhappy With AD’s Action
Coaches Romero And Perryman Air Feelings About ‘Lack Of Support’ From Athletic Director
Hart ISD coaches Ruby Romero and Stacy Perryman met with the school board at their regular meeting on October 19. They indicated that the adoption of an athletic policy handbook has been paying off. The two met with the board several times this summer before the Board unanimously approved their wishes to adopt the handbook.
The two aired their feelings about a student who will be allowed to play high school boys’ basketball after Ken Rosser, who is the superintendent and the Athletic Director, said he can participate in basketball after he violated practice sessions in cross country. (Cross country or football is required as a conditioning tool for being able to play basketball.)
The Pulse learned that Lisa Hamilton Ogelsby, secondary special education teacher who has been coaching boys’ cross country for a number of years, resigned her coaching duties after Rosser allowed this boy to be able to play basketball.
The Pulse understands that parents of athletes had to sign that they understand the handbook policiies, and that the parents of this boy did sign. There is the assumption that after a meeting between Rosser and a parent(s) of the boy, the school’s attorney, Fred Stormer of Amarillo, was contacted. He provided a draft of the policy with changes for the Board to ponder.
Romero told the board hay about two months had gone by when Rosser allowed this boy to be able to disregard his cross-country practice violations. The Pulse asked Rosser after the board meeting why, after two months, he would allow this, knowing that the same rule applied to other athletes who had not asked to be able to disregard the handbook. He indicated that the handbook had some ” unclear verbiage” that left him to determine the handbook needed amending. The Pulse assumes that the parent(s) of this boy did not contact Rosser until after this two months transpired. Rosser never cited the two-month period to The Pulse.
The Pulse notes that when Romero and Perryman were wanting the handbook to be adopted, Rosser did not make any comments either for or against the handbook.
Perryman, who is the head football coach, told the Board that he had warned them that he would lose football players because of the handbook, which he said instills discipline in the athletes. Board member Erasmo Mata said he had noticed more discipline in the football players.
Perryman said he started with 20 football players and at the time of the meeting, he had 12.
It seems that when Romero and Perryman removed an athlete because of a violation of the policy, they got a signature from the athlete documenting this. Oglesby, according to Romero, did not, thinking that the policy does not require such a signature.
Romero said that the coaches feel that the handbook has made a lot of difference. She said that the draft is not to their liking. She added that there are lots of hard feelings and that many athletes are unhappy that they had followed the policies, and yet, this boy was allowed to violate them without any repercussion. “We don’t know how to respond to these athletes. Where do we go from here?”
Board President Elodia Rodriguez said that she had talked with Stormer over the phone and he said that the handbook is a “work in progress.” She said that it can be a legal liability by having rigid numbers as to number of practices missed, etc., and that coaches have to use their discretion at times. She said that Stormer does not recommend having rigid numbers. Romero asked, “Why can’t we?”
Rodriguez: “It should be your discretion,”
Board member Mata asked the two coaches if they have the AD’s support. Perryman said, “Not with this.”
Romero said that we don’t have anybody else to talk to. She is not happy that the superintendent and the AD are the same person. Last year, Rosser volunteered to be the Athletic Director.
Romero asked, “What am I supposed to tell the kids?” She said that since this athlete will be allowed to play basketball, some of the other athletes don’t want to play. She also mentioned that she had been told by a mother of a male athlete that she is considering pursuing the matter with a lawyer since her son had complied with the handbook, even quitting his job to be able to attend practices.
The Pulse understands that there will be a person-on-person meeting among Rosser and the coaches.
The Board took no action on the draft version of the handbook.
The Pulse opines: This reporter, Neoma Williams, wonders if Ken. Rosser, the Board or Stormer actually read the handbook. (She did not read it in detail, she notes.) Apparently there is a lack of communication between the AD and the coaches. I would think that getting the signature of an athlete who is removed from the program would be clearly required in the handbook and be understood among the coaches and the AD.
I am glad to see these young coaches wanting to do good by our kids, and requiring discipline is important for sports and for life.
While it is not fair to the athletes who did comply with the handbook rules, I would like to see them and their parents do the right thing and not quit. This has happened too often here at Hart.
And, I’d like to see parents (and perhaps their children) attend school board meetings in a positive manner and ask what they can do to help make the handbook better, instead of someone’s always threatening to sue. This is an all-too-common response when things don’t go our way. Yes, we need to be able to sue at times, but it’s bandied about way too much.