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Parents tell Northern Lehigh committee they’ve filed complaints alleging long‑running verbal abuse by coach Mike Bauer; administration says allegations are 'the
Summary
Multiple parents urged the board to investigate allegations that youth and paid coach Mike Bauer subjected middle‑school athletes to repeated verbal abuse, cursing and humiliation; administration said the allegations are known and are under investigation and asked commenters not to discuss specifics during the personnel process.
Several parents addressed the board’s curricular/extracurricular committee to raise allegations of repeated verbal abuse, belittling and retaliation by youth and paid coach Mike Bauer.
Allison Schaeffer (S16) said she and a group of parents collected signatures—she said about 34 parents—to report ‘‘absolute mistreatment’’ of youth athletes at the middle‑school basketball level and described their child as being bullied, threatened and screamed at. A parent (S19) said her eighth‑grade son refused to attend an awards ceremony because of the coach, and another community member (S7) and additional parents described similar reports and said they had submitted emails to administration and the athletic director.
Schaeffer said the group brought the matter up the chain of command and then to the board because they felt their concerns were not resolved at lower levels. She named Mike Bauer as the person they alleged was responsible for the misconduct and said the group is seeking board awareness and action. Several parents asked the district to investigate and to protect children from further mistreatment.
Administrator (S8) acknowledged the board is aware of the allegations and said they are being investigated. He urged the public not to comment further during the meeting because the matter may become a personnel issue that requires confidentiality and a formal hearing process if warranted.
The committee did not take a public personnel action at the meeting; administration said it would pursue an investigation as appropriate under district procedures.
