Parkway coaches' status unclear

ROCKFORD - A review of two Parkway varsity wrestling coaches' personnel files revealed no mention of reassignment, termination or disciplinary action taken against them.

The Daily Standard submitted a public records request for the personnel files of varsity wrestling coaches Jeremy Joseph and Jeff Farmer on Tuesday after a contentious school board meeting on Monday that resulted in a board member's resignation.

On Monday, superintendent Jeanne Osterfeld said only that the coaches had been reassigned. Administrators would not release personnel records about actions involving the coaches without a formal request.

Joseph's personnel files dated back to 2009. They did not include any mention of reassignment, termination or disciplinary action.

His 2020-2021 supplemental contract as varsity wrestling head coach was approved Sept. 14 and was set to expire June 30. He also had a supplemental contract as junior high assistant football coach, effective June 9, 2020, to June 30, 2021.

His 2020-2021 supplemental contract as varsity boys' assistant track coach was set to run from Nov. 9, 2020, until June 30, 2021. However, the contract had an undated, handwritten note at the top which read "resigned" and "accepted 3/8/21."

Although board members at Monday's meeting approved his resignation as assistant track coach, no letter of resignation or other mention of resignation was included in the documents provided.

Joseph's 2020 wrestling head coach evaluation contained almost exclusively "excellent" marks, with only four of the 36 indicators rated "good."

"Coach Joseph did a nice job of taking over a program in transition," athletic director Matt Triplett wrote in the "goals" section. "He was very helpful with scheduling opponents and staying current with requirements from OHSAA (Ohio High School Athletic Association). I look forward to working with Coach Joseph in the future."

The evaluation was signed by Triplett and dated Jan. 1, 2020.

However, an undated, handwritten note at the bottom of the evaluation read "Due to COVID-19 restrictions this evaluation was not completed."

In the remaining 11 undated assistant coach evaluations for football, track and wrestling, Joseph consistently received positive ratings, receiving only two "average" ratings.

Seven evaluations recommended his contracts be renewed. The remaining evaluations contained no recommendations.

Farmer's personnel files, which date back to 2018, also did not include any mention of reassignment, termination or disciplinary action. His supplemental contract for the 2020-2021 school year was effective Oct. 12 and was set to expire June 30.

In his 2020 evaluation, Farmer received a and perfect marks. Commentary from Joseph read "Jeff did a lot of extra things for the kids and team. Very much appreciated." His evaluations from 2018 and 2019 also contained perfect marks.

Under the "recommendations" portion of the evaluations, it was recommended that Farmer's contracts be renewed in 2018 and 2019. His 2020 evaluation did not list any recommendations.

About 60 community members attended Monday's meeting, where middle school football and wrestling coach Mike Langenkamp and senior Parkway wrestler Treya Conn voiced frustration over the coaches' treatment.

Langenkamp claimed the two had been removed from their positions without approval from the school board and were not given a chance to defend themselves.

Board member Kristin Hamrick was the only member to discuss the action, shortly before she resigned.

Osterfeld said the coaches have not been fired or terminated but said their contracts were up for renewal and that they had been reassigned. Osterfeld did not say to where the coaches had been reassigned.

Farmer, who attended the Monday school board meeting, said if he had been reassigned, he wasn't sure to where he'd been reassigned. The coach said he and Joseph were called to the school two days before the sectional tournament and told they were not needed at practice.

Joseph could not be reached for comment by press time.

Clarification:

Jeremy Joseph's resignation letter from varsity boys' assistant track coach was not in the documents released by the district on Wednesday. However, a Parkway Local Schools secretary on Thursday provided a copy of the letter to The Daily Standard.