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Parent urges board to investigate athletics complaints, calls for superintendent accountability
Summary
Resident Jason Kinney told the Scotia-Glenville Central School District board that multiple complaints about coaches and administrative retaliation have gone unaddressed and urged the board to investigate and hold the superintendent accountable.
Jason Kinney, a Scotia-Glenville resident and parent, used the board's public comment period to urge the Scotia-Glenville Central School District Board of Education to investigate multiple complaints about athletics staff and the district administration and to hold the superintendent accountable.
Kinney testified that his daughter and other students have raised concerns about the field hockey coach and that he expects the district's DASA (Dignity for All Students Act) process to proceed, but said the girls "deserve far better than him" and called the coach "the coward of a man that is currently coaching the field hockey program" (Jason Kinney, public commenter). He said the coach used "fear and intimidation" rather than "respect and discipline."
Kinney summarized a string of public comments made at previous board meetings this school year that, he said, point to a broader problem with district administration and transparency. He cited public-discussion dates the board has heard testimony on: Sept. 23, Oct. 7, Oct. 28, Nov. 4 and Dec. 9, and said recurring topics included mishandled personnel actions, nontransparent vacancy postings, alleged retaliation and high staff turnover.
He told the board he had been informed by a former board member that concerns about the athletic director had been raised years earlier but were not pursued because of the perceived cost of removing a tenured employee. Kinney said families and staff have left the district and some students are home taught or enrolled elsewhere.
Kinney asked the board to "look into the many cases of individuals leaving the district under sudden or unexpected circumstances and into the many complaints against the district administration," and urged the board to ensure there is oversight of the superintendent's decisions about discipline and personnel (Jason Kinney, public commenter).
The speaker did not propose a specific board motion during his comments; he said citizens will hold the board accountable at the ballot if they do not take action. The board did not take immediate action on a specific investigation during the meeting; Kinney's remarks were given during the public comment portion of the agenda.
The district's formal DASA and personnel processes were referenced by the commenter, but no board response or staff report addressing the specific complaints was recorded in the meeting transcript.
