District hearing focuses on coach’s conduct after students accessed bus keys

The Jacksonville North Pulaski School District board reviewed a personnel matter Thursday after a video and witness statements showed students on a school bus with access to the vehicle's keys and at least one student moving the bus while unsupervised.

Board lawyers and witnesses described the incident as a safety and liability concern and discussed whether the coach's actions amounted to misconduct meriting termination. An attorney representing the district said the board needed only "just cause to terminate the contract," and urged the board to consider the district's exposure if a student had been injured. The board then moved into executive session.

The district's presentation cited a video in which a coach asked a student, "Are you gonna pull the bus up?" and said the recording and accompanying witness statements created a record that students were left on the bus unsupervised with access to the keys. District counsel argued that leaving keys where students could access them converted the bus into an "attractive nuisance," increasing the district's liability unless reasonable steps had been taken to prevent access.

Coach Larry told the board he did not become aware of the events depicted until he saw the video at the district office. He said volunteer assistant coaches sometimes sat on the bus with him and that keys were sometimes left on the bus overnight or held by different coaches. He told the board he would not give keys to students again. "No, ma'am," he said when asked whether he would ever give the key to players again.

Board members and staff described the district's standard training materials and sign-in records that cover coaching responsibilities. The packet the district submitted included a sign-in sheet for the training and pages labeled "coaching responsibilities" and "coaching performance," which list duties including providing supervision, ensuring student safety in pickup areas, and "provide[ing] supervision and control on bus trips." The presentation noted that the coach had signed the training attendance sheet.

During questioning, board members asked about logistics: the bus departure times, whether one or multiple sets of keys exist, and where keys are typically left. Witnesses said there are two sets of bus keys and that keys are sometimes left on the bus or held by other coaches; the district witness described the keys' location and submitted a photograph of where keys had been left.

A speaker who identified themselves as representing the coach urged the board for leniency, saying the coach made a poor judgment under stress and lacked evidence of "willful" or "deliberate indifference." That speaker argued the facts did not show the coach acted with the level of intent required for termination in their view and asked the board to consider mitigation.

No formal vote or final action was recorded in the transcript excerpt provided. After presentations and questioning, the board announced it would go into executive session to continue its deliberations.

Clarifying details available in the record include that two sets of bus keys exist, the coach said he did not learn of the incident until seeing the video at the district office, the district submitted a photograph of where keys were left, and training materials (with a sign-in sheet) referencing supervision and bus-trip responsibilities were included in the board packet.

The board's next public action or vote on employment status was not recorded in the transcript provided.