Coach Rips School Officials On Facebook, Gets Fired
The board moved to immediately terminate Scott Joseph, an assistant football coach at Brooke High School, at the recommendation of Kathy Kidder, superintendent.
“This person chose to berate and belittle Brooke High School in a public forum,” said Kidder, referring to a Facebook page established by Joseph.
Board President Jim Piccirillo said Joseph also was “insubordinate” to Kidder and Assistant Superintendent Marty Bartz during phone calls he made to them.
Asked to clarify, Kidder said Joseph used offensive language while speaking to her.
Kidder said Joseph was unhappy with a letter sent by the board advising his contract would end at the end of the current school year. She said nine such letters were sent to coaches hired from outside the school system.
Kidder said it’s the board’s policy to fill coaching positions first from the district’s professional personnel, such as teachers.
If none bid on the positions, the positions are advertised to the public, but “citizen coaches” hired from the public are on a one-year contract that is terminated at the end of each school year, she said.
Kidder said the citizen coaches are advised they may apply for their jobs in the next school year if they aren’t filled in-house. She said form letters are used to notify the coaches, though a congratulatory comment on an outstanding season may be added.
Joseph, who was called for comment, said he disputes his contract ends with the school year and not on June 30, which would allow him to work with players in training. But he said his anger with school officials stems primarily from his belief that he, Brooke Head Football Coach Tom Bruney and the Brooke football team have been treated unfairly because he and Bruney are seen as outsiders.
Joseph didn’t deny he swore at Kidder and Bartz but said he didn’t threaten them.
Kidder said there was no truth to rumors that a restraining order had been sought against Joseph.
Brooke County Sheriff Richard Ferguson has called Joseph “a person of interest” but said Wednesday the school board hasn’t pursued criminal charges against him and no charges have been filed.
For a while Joseph adjusted privacy settings for the Wall section of his Facebook page to allow anyone to see it, according to officials.
The page included a graphic of a heart with dripping letters spelling the words “F– You Brooke,” and criticisms of school officials, whom he described as liars, according to officials. None were mentioned by name.
Several individuals identifying themselves as Brooke High School students had posted comments supporting Joseph.
One suggested he was voicing his grievance in the wrong way, noting his actions have spurred the attention of local law enforcement.
By late Wednesday the graphic had been removed and privacy settings changed so the Wall couldn’t be viewed by everyone.
Joseph said his anger with school officials is due in part to an incident at the Brooke-Morgantown game in which he was struck by a rowdy fan he said had been jeering the Brooke players.
He noted under state law, someone charged with assaulting a school official faces specific penalties. But he said no action was taken against the other man while he was escorted from the field and suspended without pay.
Joseph, who said he’d tried to be a positive influence on the players and their friends, was asked if he was sending the wrong message to them by using obscenities to criticize school officials on his Facebook page.
“Maybe I could have used fewer cuss words or no cuss words at all,” he said. “I was very upset when I wrote that, but I still feel the same way. They (Brooke school officials) are liars and not good people to work with.”
Joseph was asked about images of Michael Myers of the “Halloween” movies, Charles Manson, the Zodiac Killer and Ted Bundy that appeared, along with DeMarcus Ware, by a heading “People who inspire Scott” on the page.
Joseph said he worked in law enforcement for 10 years and his interest in such figures stems only from his interest in psychology and forensic science. The heading was a result of changes in format by those behind Facebook and not his doing, he said.
“They don’t inspire me none whatsoever. If that’s what it says, I’ll have to change that,” Joseph said.
In other business, the board moved to suspend indefinitely Sean Rujak, a substitute custodian for the school district.
Rujak was charged by Weirton Police Monday with transporting crack cocaine into the state with the intent to deliver.
He is being held in the Northern Regional Jail and his case is pending in Brooke County Magistrate Court.
Kidder said Rujak’s suspension complies with personnel policy addressing such situations.
Asked by Piccirillo if background checks had been performed for the two before they were hired, Bartz said they were and the two passed the test.
