Every year, hundreds of Wayland High School student athletes participate in over fifty different sports that develop and nurture our youth’s sense of character, teamwork, sportsmanship, and a healthy lifestyle. Many students cite their participation in sports as one of the most enjoyable and important aspects of their high school careers. The recent dialog about allegations regarding our athletic program has understandably created questions and concerns. Unfortunately, these allegations and the ensuing public speculation, have led to an erosion of trust which is fueled by the need to keep personnel matters confidential. It’s our hope that with direct information about our policies and practices, we can establish a more balanced dialog and set a tone of positive discourse.
For the sake of clarity, we want to inform the public of our standard operating procedures as there has clearly been some misinformation in circulation. In addition, where confidentiality allows, we want to provide some information regarding specific allegations that have been made. One thing we cannot comment on: the specific reasons that went into the non-renewal of the athletic director.
To begin, it is the policy of the Wayland Public Schools to conduct a criminal record check (CORI), every three years, on each one of our employees. This also applies to volunteers who may have unmonitored supervision of students. For instance, every one of this past academic school year’s coaches, assistant coaches, and volunteer coaches listed by the Athletic Director had a CORI check. We have and will continue to adhere to this policy. In the past 5 years, we know of one volunteer who was not given a CORI check, although prior to his volunteer work, his criminal record was discussed with the district. This was a unique situation in which the volunteer work was completed as part of this individual’s required community service. On a related note, all paid employees are also required to be fingerprinted as part of their background check.
Over the last 3 years, we have developed extensive guidelines and purchasing procedures for our student activity accounts. These guidelines are explicit in regard to the Commonwealth’s conflict of interest laws. In addition, every employee on a biannual basis must complete an on-line training developed by the State Ethics Commission. As has been reported in the press, Wayland’s head football coach used a company owned by his father to purchase team apparel. This company’s apparel, sold at reduced rates, was also purchased by multiple other team sports, school activities, and town recreation programs. The School Committee and the coach himself each referred this circumstance, which we are investigating, to the State Ethics Commission. No school clubs or sports will use this company while this situation is under investigation.
Personnel decisions are often difficult, and the reasons are always confidential. A decision not to renew a contract is never made lightly, and results from any number of concerns such as the individual’s job performance, the skills and credentials needed for the job, and in the case of an administrator, his or her ability to build consensus around a shared vision and to manage the operational aspects of the job. All of this is done in the context of ongoing supervision and annual performance reviews. Non-renewal of a contract set to expire is very different from firing an individual, which would require doing so for cause (such as for incompetency, conduct unbecoming a teacher, or insubordination).
Wayland employs a thorough and inclusive administrative hiring process characterized by an advisory committee, representative of various constituency groups, that meets to share values and concerns, develop interview questions, review all resumes, choose candidates for interviews, conduct those interviews, and recommend finalists to the principal or superintendent. There then follows second interviews and reference checks.
In the current hiring process for the new Athletic Director, student athletes and coaches were surveyed, and the advisory committee is composed of the crew coach, track coach, four parents chosen by Boosters (two parents of current athletes and two parents of graduates), a student athlete, and an administrative assistant. It is being chaired by the high school assistant principal Ethan Dolleman. Committee members have direct experience with the following boys and girls sports: volleyball, basketball, soccer, wrestling, crew, track, lacrosse, football, and tennis. This is a formal and extensive process consistent with the process used to hire building principals.
Our policy is that all coaches must be paid through the payroll authorized by the School Committee. A question has been raised about whether a gift from parents made to one of our volunteer coaches at the end of the season was a veiled way to pay a salary to this individual. We are investigating this allegation. Public employees cannot accept gifts of $50 or more, nor can they accept a group gift valued at over $150. Going forward, we have issued a notice that all volunteer coaches must adhere to the same policy as employees, and that coaches must assure that parents are informed of these guidelines.
We are taking a hard look at the way we’ve done things and the way our programs are being perceived. We hope that this update is helpful even though our process is not yet complete. Our commitment is to create the best experience possible for our student athletes and to foster positive youth development through sports. It is this ongoing goal that will inform and drive any needed changes.
Paul Stein, Superintendent of Schools
July 15, 2015
