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Dayton Daily News (Ohio)
Fall coaching and athletic director positions for all six Dayton Public Schools high schools and middle schools have been reposted, and new requirements are in place.
A new job description for athletic directors at Belmont, Dunbar, Meadowdale, Ponitz, Stivers and Thurgood Marshall high schools would no longer allow them to coach.
The changes affect three current City League AD/coaches: Belmont's Earl White (football), Meadowdale's Chad Miller (girls basketball) and Thur-good Marshall's Armiya Muhammed (wrestling). A fourth, Dunbar boys basketball coach Pete Pullen, resigned as that school's AD last November.
A 10-day period to reapply for the coaching or AD positions closes May 9. The coaching and AD positions were posted on the Greater Dayton Area Employment Consortium last Thursday. Coaching positions for winter and next spring will be posted at a later date.
In addition, three new questions have been added for potential candidates regarding previous verbal or written DPS reprimands, Ohio High School Athletic Association allegations and OHSAA violations.
"I'm not understanding where this is coming from," said White, a 21-year DPS teacher who left a successful football program at Thurgood Marshall to resurrect Belmont athletics as football coach and AD in 2014. "I'm planning on applying for both. ... If I'm denied I'll go through the union process and go from there."
DPS Athletic Director Mark Baker and DPS Superintendent Rhonda Corr did not respond to a request for comment. David Romick, president of the Dayton Education Association union that represents DPS personnel, was unavailable for comment.
The Dayton school board approved a two-year contract extension for Baker last week. The vote was 5-1.
Baker was a key figure in the OHSAA's citing "a lack of administrative responsibility and institutional control," following a lengthy investigation that concluded last month with all Dayton City League boys and girls athletic programs being put on three years of probation. The state also fined DPS $10,000.
That stemmed from accusations by Dunbar football coaches and Pullen that Baker instructed Dunbar to lose to Belmont in a Week 10 game so both teams would make the playoffs.
Game video of two plays to start the third quarter appeared to show Dunbar intentionally tried to lose yardage.
Dunbar forfeited Week 9-10 games for using an academically ineligible player. Piqua and Princeton were dropped from the reshuffled playoffs, and Belmont lost in the first round.
A separate DPS investigation cleared Baker of instructing Dunbar to "throw the game" and resulted in reprimands for Dunbar coach Darran Powell and Pullen for using the ineligible player.
Miller, a Dunbar grad, has coached and taught in DPS for 25 years and guided Meadowdale to a girls Division II state track and field team title in 2014. He gave up that job to become Meadowdale's AD in 2015 and remained the girls basketball coach. Muhammed succeeded Tobette Pleasant-Brown as Thurgood's AD last fall.
Baker, another Dunbar alum, succeeded Jonas Smith as AD last summer. He previously was the boys basketball coach at Trotwood-Madison and Middletown.
White said ADs are paid with supplemental teaching contracts that top out at $12,000 if middle school duties are included.
"I feel I'm not valued," he said. "I think what I do and what I bring to the district doesn't carry any value. If it was about money and prestige I wouldn't be in Dayton Public Schools. I'd be somewhere else."
The OHSAA verdict also insisted DPS coaches and related administrators undertake continuous training. The revised AD job description includes: "Due to the increased duties and requirements from the district and the OHSAA standards, building athletic directors will not be considered for coaching positions."
The OHSAA also ruled the probation will be trimmed by one year and the fine reduced by $2,500 if there are no other similar occurrences. The school year ends in one month. Fall sports are football, soccer, girls tennis, golf, cross-country and girls volleyball.
"Yeah, I feel like I'm being singled out," Miller said. "I don't know why they're doing it. I've never had to file a grievance, but if I have to, I will. I don't think it's fair what's going on."
Contact this reporter at 937-225-2381 or email Marc.
Twitter: @MarcPendleton
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