Stratford retains varsity basketball coach
The Stratford Board of Education votedat Monday’s regular monthly meeting to retain Tammie Christopherson as head varsity girl’s basketball coach for the 2020-21 season.
School board members took the recommendations of Scott Winch, Stratford schools superintendent, Travis Grubbs, Stratford middle and high school athletic director and dean of students and Janeen LaBorde, Stratford middle and high school principal, to keep Christopherson as coach.
The trio of school district administrators investigated two girls basketball parent’s complaints on how badly Christopherson allegedly treated her players during this past season. They concluded her actions weren’t enough to cost her the varsity girls basketball coaching job.
Christopherson also kept her coaching position three years ago when a few parents also complained to the school board she was allegedly already treating her players badly back then.
Stratford girls basketball parents Paul Schueller and Troy Wiesman raised their concerns about Christopherson with school board members during the public participation forum at the beginning of the regular monthly board meeting in February. The school board took no action on the coach’s contract during the closed session portion of this meeting.
Nearly 30 Stratford School District residents attended the school board’s regular monthly meeting in March. Ten of 11 people who signed up to speak during public participation were in favor of retaining Christoperson as the head varsity girls basketball coach next season. Wiesman was the lone community member who told the school board it shouldn’t bring back Christopherson as coach in the 2020-21 season.
The school board approved a list of consent agenda items, which included the approval of winter sports coaches next season, to begin Monday’s meeting. The list of approved winter coaches didn’t include the varsity head girls basketball coach, which was under action items on the meeting agenda for the school board to decide whether or not to retain Christopherson for the 2020-21 season.
In other school news:
_ Winch told the school board Joe Schwabe is resigning as varsity head wrestling coach and varsity assistant football coach at the end of this school year. Winch said Schwabe told him he coached both football and wrestling for 28 years.
_ The school board accepted the resignation of Mary Wussow, middle and high school counselor, at the end of this school year. Winch said Wussow has worked in her current job position for the past eight years, but she worked many more years than that for the school district.
_ School board members approved LaBorde’s middle and high school adapted grading plan, in case students don’t return to school this year. LaBorde’s new student grading plan states the third quarter would count for 75 percent of a student’s semester grade, and the fourth quarter would count the remaining 25 percent of a student’s semester grade.
_ Winch honored Dan Thompson, school board president, for his nine years of service on the school board. Thompson chose not to seek re-election this year.
