Parents, students back coach Annie as board tables head-coach hires amid allegations about athletics staff

Dozens of parents and former players urged the Mount Pleasant Area School District board to retain the high school boys basketball coach after the district posted the position, and the board on Wednesday tabled a motion to approve supplemental head coaches while public concerns about athletics staff conduct were raised.

Several parents and students told the board the coach — identified in public comment as “Coach Annie” — has run voluntary clinics and open gyms, provided one-on-one mentoring and followed up with injured athletes. Jason Dils, who said he coaches seventh-grade boys basketball in Mount Pleasant, said, “She’s been fantastic to me and to our students.” Stacy Smith, who identified herself as a teacher and parent, said she was “saddened, I was angered, and I was shocked” to see the coach’s position posted and argued that parents should respect coaches’ decisions.

Supporters described off-season clinics that drew “30 to 40 kids,” regular open gyms and travel tournament trips to Slippery Rock, North Allegheny and Monroeville. Several speakers said graduated players return as volunteers. Abby Yezek told the board the coach has “decades of experience in coaching and playing basketball,” and credited the coach with mentoring players beyond athletics.

Not all public commenters agreed. Justin Baron said there have been instances that negatively affected his son and that opening the position was appropriate; he said, “I honestly feel that the school board and the school has made the right decision in opening up her position.”

Separately during public comment, parent Jennifer Garn described an incident involving the district athletic director and her son, an 18-year-old student who said he could not attend a rescheduled track meet because of a work obligation. Garn said school staff contacted the employer and that the athletic director told her son, “you are such a disappointment,” language she described as inappropriate. She also said an office employee filed a harassment report and that follow-up with the employer and affected students had not been completed to her satisfaction.

Parent Susanna Arbening, who said her daughter was among several girls who left the girls’ basketball program this season, urged the board to reconsider how the district handles coaches and to investigate the alleged athletic-staff conduct. In response to multiple public speakers who raised allegations about staff behavior, board members said they would not allow public disparagement of personnel while an investigation is underway and indicated administration would follow up.

Board action: The board considered agenda item 4.1 (supplemental personnel — head coaches) and accepted a motion to table that item. The board later approved other supplemental personnel and athletic volunteer items in a separate motion (agenda 4.2–4.3). The proposed tabling left the head-coach hires unresolved and will bring them back for future consideration.

Why it matters: The exchanges turned a routine personnel agenda item into a major public issue, with supporters describing mentoring and program growth while others raised concerns about team management and staff conduct. The district’s process for investigating complaints and the status of the head-coach postings are left open pending administrative follow-up.

What’s next: The board tabled the head-coach hires; the district administration indicated it would follow up on complaints raised during public comment and determine next steps. No formal disciplinary outcomes were announced during the meeting.