Coach Says Email Campaign Forced Him Out

MercuryNews.com

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_21997308/san-ramon-coach-says-he-was-forced-out?source=rss

A former California High School coach, who says he was forced out by allegations in an anonymous email campaign, turned the heat on the San Ramon Valley school board Tuesday night.

In a speech that was strident and emotional, teacher Bob Donovan accused the administration of hypocrisy for demanding his resignation as head coach of the varsity basketball team while still trusting him to teach.

The district would not comment on why Donovan resigned from his coaching position in September, but Donovan said he was forced out for allowing former Bishop O’Dowd High School basketball coach Mike Phelps to observe a practice in the California High School gym in October 2010.

Phelps is the winningest high school basketball coach in state history, but his reputation was sullied in 2003 when he pleaded not guilty to molesting a child four decades prior. The charge was dismissed without a trial after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a California law that allowed prosecutors to file charges against those accused of sex offenses after the statute of limitations had expired.

On Tuesday night, the board’s Danville meeting room was packed, and the mood was celebratory as local politicians came out to laud school board member Paul Gardner, who was stepping down after 12 years. Speakers also congratulated the board on the passage of Proposition 30 and the apparent passage of a $260 million school facilities bond, which put the high-scoring school district on solid financial ground.

Coach Says Email Campaign Forced Him Out

MercuryNews.com

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_21997308/san-ramon-coach-says-he-was-forced-out?source=rss

A former California High School coach, who says he was forced out by allegations in an anonymous email campaign, turned the heat on the San Ramon Valley school board Tuesday night.

In a speech that was strident and emotional, teacher Bob Donovan accused the administration of hypocrisy for demanding his resignation as head coach of the varsity basketball team while still trusting him to teach.

The district would not comment on why Donovan resigned from his coaching position in September, but Donovan said he was forced out for allowing former Bishop O’Dowd High School basketball coach Mike Phelps to observe a practice in the California High School gym in October 2010.

Phelps is the winningest high school basketball coach in state history, but his reputation was sullied in 2003 when he pleaded not guilty to molesting a child four decades prior. The charge was dismissed without a trial after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a California law that allowed prosecutors to file charges against those accused of sex offenses after the statute of limitations had expired.

On Tuesday night, the board’s Danville meeting room was packed, and the mood was celebratory as local politicians came out to laud school board member Paul Gardner, who was stepping down after 12 years. Speakers also congratulated the board on the passage of Proposition 30 and the apparent passage of a $260 million school facilities bond, which put the high-scoring school district on solid financial ground.