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Parent alleges Big Bear High soccer coach bullied ASB president; parent seeks board action
Summary
A Big Bear parent told the board his daughter, the ASB president and a national honor society member, quit the school soccer team after a closed-door meeting with a coach and vice principal he described as an "egregious overstepping of authority." The parent asked the board to investigate and said he will return to the next meeting for an update.
A local parent accused Big Bear High School staff of mishandling a disciplinary meeting and said his daughter, the school ASB president and a National Honor Society member, quit the girls soccer team because of the coach's behavior.
"My daughter...quit your team yesterday because your coach is a bully," John Taylor told the Bear Valley Unified School District governing board during the public comment period. Taylor said his daughter, Kira Taylor, was pulled into a closed-door meeting with the coach and the vice principal after the family sent an email asking for an independent-study accommodation while she and a parent visited colleges. "At no point did it occur to the principal...to pick up the phone and call me or my wife," Taylor said.
Why this matters: Taylor said his daughter had college recruiting interest and concerns about being benched would affect her scholarship prospects. He urged the board to investigate, said anonymous surveys and prior complaints had flagged similar coach conduct, and asked for results at the next meeting.
Taylor said the coach had benched his daughter following a doctor's appointment the week before and described earlier reports from teammates and community members about "inappropriate poaching technique, passive aggressive comments, and outright punishment for excused absences." He said his daughter had been captain and that the coach's conduct had put "my daughter's 11 year soccer career goal of getting a solid scholarship at risk."
Board response and follow-up: The superintendent acknowledged Taylor's comment and said he would be in contact as a parent. At one point during public comment the board president invited Taylor to follow up and Taylor said he would return to the next meeting for an update.
Ending: Taylor closed by urging the board to "produce results" and said he would return if he did not see action; the board signaled staff would follow up.
