Parent raises questions about athletic account transfers and coach allotment at Mount Pleasant High

A Mount Pleasant parent told the Tavares County Board of Education on May 12 that she had requested public records and found multiple transfers and expenditures in school athletic accounts, and she asked the board to explain why a prominent track coach would not be retained.

Keisha Garrido said she sought records after learning the track coach, Kurt Hurlacher, had been informed he would not have a job next year despite recent competitive success. She told the board she found the following items in school accounts: $1,709.03 spent from the track account for a dry-erase board (August 2023); over $18,000 raised for a weight room in September 2023 that "has never been built, or accounted for, and that money is still in the football account"; $800 paid from the track account for PR timing that she says should have come from the general athletic account (March 2024); and $5,000 moved from the volleyball account to the general athletic account on March 20, 2025, without coaches' authorization.

"He sees the gifts that each of his students have, and he teaches them the skills needed to reach their highest potential," Garrido said of Coach Hurlacher. She asked the board to provide clarification; she said Superintendent John Kopicki told her he planned to address the matter after graduation.

A student speaker, Hampton Garrido, said Hurlacher "has been a really, really positive impact in my life" and that he qualified for state competition this Saturday. "By him not being at our school next year, it really affects me," Hampton said.

Board members acknowledged the public comment and staff said they would look into the records request and respond; the superintendent indicated he planned to address concerns following upcoming graduation ceremonies. The board did not take immediate formal action at the meeting, and no personnel decisions were announced publicly during the session.