Yough School Board's decision to open the position of girl's basketball coach fueled an emotional outcry from her team, alumni and parents this week, but administrators say the action was nothing more than a procedural matter.
"The board has the sole discretion to open supplemental positions every year. That's all there is to it," Superintendent Paul Rach said Thursday. "Is there something else⢠No. People don't want to take 'no' for an answer."
On March 5, the board voted to open the position at a special meeting attended only by board members, Solicitor Terrance Faye said. At the school board's regular meeting this week, a standing-room-only crowd turned out to show support for veteran head coach Jeannine Vertacnik and her assistant, Jenn Yuvan.
Before 11 people addressed directors at this week's meeting, Faye read a statement explaining that the decision to open the position was simply part of the contract with Yough Education Association.
The YEA contract is expiring this year, and Faye recommended opening the position while the district reconsiders the hiring procedure for supplemental positions.
"You should not read anything into opening this position or assume the coaches will not be rehired," Faye said.
Despite the solicitor's statement, eight students and alumni players tearfully begged the board to keep their beloved coach. Three parents of players who addressed the board questioned members' motives for opening the position.
Vertacnik said she agonized over the board's decision to open her position and repeatedly asked administrators to explain their decision.
"Did they think I would go away⢠I worked very hard with the program and we have good teams," Vertacnik said. "I don't know who said what or why. I've wracked my brain trying to figure out what the problem is. The parents have been with us everywhere we go. I've had kids over to my house; we've gone on basketball camps."
Each girl broke into tears as she described how Vertacnik taught her to love the game, develop as a competitive player and forge a family-like bond with her teammates.
"How many of you watched us play this year?" demanded a tearful Amanda Finley, captain of the varsity team. "I wish one of you came and watched us. This destroyed us and this program. I wish you'd change your mind. No one wants to play now. We are a family. We had a good season."
Varsity player Carrie Cyktor presented directors with a petition signed by 95 people who supported Vertacnik. She sobbed as she described how the coach had included her disabled sister, Christy, in team activities.
"Can you imagine going through this⢠My two best friends are gone. She made my sister team captain and cheerleader," Cyktor said as her sister sat nearby in a wheelchair.
"We were on our way to becoming a very competitive team," player Mackenzie Keenan said.
Terry Bashioum, the mother of a junior player, said she had no idea why the school board opted to open the positions. " I have never seen anything that would cause this. My daughter plays three other sports, and no other coach puts in this time Jeannine does."
Yesterday, Rach said the public must understand that the board's decision to open supplemental positions is based on the YEA contract.
"We do this (rehiring) every August," he said. "I present the board with three or four pages of supplemental positions for approval.
"We now have so many supplemental positions, we need to find a process to do this in a more timely fashion. We are currently working with YEA to possibly open all positions every year, in segments, so the football coach is not hired in August and the baseball coaches aren't hired in the spring. We're looking for a process that makes this smoother and takes away the uncertainty," he explained.
Rach said the board is not required to tell the coach why her position was opened.
"The bottom line is, the board has the discretion. Sometimes when you open a position, a more viable candidate can come along," he said.
Vertacnik, 1975 Yough graduate, said she has been girls basketball coach for a total of 11 years. She held the position for the past two years, and previously coached from 1987 to 1996. Vertacnik said she left the high school in 1996 because she had "done what she set out to do at Yough," and went on to coach at the collegiate level.
She returned to the district when the position opened again.
"When I left, there were 20 girls. When I came back, there were eight. Now there are 86 girls in grades 3 to 5, 14 in grades 7 to 8 and 15 in grades 9 to 12," she said.
