Parents, students and alumni urge reinstatement of F-M running coach while others raise process and free-expression concerns

At its June 8 meeting the Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District board heard more than an hour of public comment centered on two overlapping controversies: the administrative handling of an athletic investigation involving the district's cross-country and track program, and a separate episode in which a student read a poem at a cultural assembly and some community members said district messaging singled out the student.

Multiple alumni, parents, students and community members urged the board to reinstate the long-time coach and to support the program. Supporters emphasized athlete development, injury prevention practices and character-building. "This program always encouraged athletes to lead a balanced life and avoid the risk posed by under-fueling, injury, and burnout," Suzanne Kercher read from an alum's e-mail summarizing program practices. Parent speakers and former athletics director Richard Roy described the coach as a strong communicator with high standards who prioritized athletes' health.

Several speakers disputed media reports alleging negligent overtraining. Nolan McInn, a 2024 FM graduate, said his high-school weekly mileage was similar to many collegiate runners and that athletes with injuries were "taken care of with utmost concern and care by the coaching staff." Izzy Sullivan, a recent graduate now running collegiately, said the program was "the best part of my high school career" and described the coach's support for athletes.

Other commenters raised procedural and legal concerns about how the district handled complaints. A parent who identified herself as Diane said initial complaints were filed in August 2025 but administrative action did not occur until May 2026, calling the delay "a profound failure of process" and warning of legal exposure if the investigative process was compromised. That speaker urged a pragmatic compromise: reinstate leadership while refining communication between coaching staff, athletic trainers and families.

Separately, Dr. Fahad Sada described his daughter's poem at a cultural (AAPI) assembly and said a district email on May 19 had singled out and shamed his daughter for reading the piece. He asked the board to retract the email and to publish a communitywide statement condemning the video, which he said showed a Palestinian flag being desecrated and circulated without district response. "A poem about a child's hope was treated as a danger," Sada said, and he asked the board to treat anti-Palestinian hate like other forms of bigotry.

Educator Mara Sapone Chevan urged the district to treat the assembly episode as a teachable moment and to invest in training that distinguishes uncomfortable conversation from genuine harassment. Others asked the district to be clear about definitions (anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, hate speech) and to engage the community in a constructive reboot of training for administrators and principals.

There were no formal votes tied to the public-comment requests at this meeting. After public comment the board moved into new-business resolutions and later voted to enter executive session to discuss "the employment of a particular person or persons." The public record at this meeting therefore reflects community testimony, competing claims and requests for corrective district action; the board did not announce a public disciplinary or reinstatement decision during the open session.