Parents critical of Tecumseh Schools for loss of three coaches

Multiple families and parents arrived at the December 14 school board meeting for Tecumseh Public Schools (TPS), many of whom stood to show support for Scott Norkey, former Tecumseh High School varsity boys basketball coach, and Eddy Foley, former IT Director and varsity boys cross country team coach. Both Norkey and Foley were employed through Professional Educational Services Group (PESG). During the past month, TPS asked that both Norkey and Foley be reassigned within the organization for personnel reasons.

THS football coach Steve Robb also resigned on December 14. Superintendent Kelly Coffin said Robb resigned because of the time he spent commuting from home and THS. “He drives an hour and ten minutes both ways,” Coffin said. “He’s traveled like this for a year and the drive was too long.”

Norkey was present at the board meeting, and was the first to speak during public comment about his reassignment. “I understand I am an at-will employee, and therefore I can be let go without given a reason,” Norkey said. “But the reason I was given is untrue. Part of the reason, I was told, was a conversation that I had with a close friend of ours, who has also been let go. The conversation was through Facebook Mess-enger, which is a private, personal conversation. And someone in the district, after he was terminated, gained access to his Facebook Messenger account. These conversations did not occur on a school laptop, they occurred at home on his personal laptop and through my phone. I do feel I was not given the opportunity to voice my own opinion about it or discuss the matters. I was brought in and I was told the district has made a decision, and you’re done.”

Norkey’s wife Shawna also spoke at the board meeting, questioning why three coaches have been released from the district in a span of a month. “I think the board really needs to investigate why good people, and great coaches, are getting reassigned, forced to resign, or fired, one of those three. It’s such a sad and unfortunate situation and not something the students should have to experience in one school year.”

Mike Watkins, a parent whose children played on Norkey’s team, further questioned the turnover rate for coaches at TPS. “Why is this happening in sport after sport after sport?” Watkins said.

Bill Sparrow, another parent whose son plays athletics at THS, said he was “infuriated” with the actions of the board. “You are a public institution. You answer to us. These coaches were hired by you to serve this community, and now you’re dismissing them and telling us you don’t owe us an answer? That’s absurd,” Sparrow said.

The board asked parents to not combine Robb’s resignation with the reassignment of Foley and Norkey, and said it stood behind the decision of the superintendent. “We have addressed this issue and do not discuss personnel issues in public,” President Ed Tritt said. “We hire one person. That is the superintendent.”

Fredericka Hayes, PESG compliance officer, added that personnel matters are confidential. “We are a private company and are in communication with our employees and will not discuss this in public,” Hayes said.

Parent Chris Glover provided a letter to the board, which said (the superintendent and the athletic director violated a policy from the TPS Athletic Code when punishing a student athlete. He wrote that his son had violated athletic code, and was told he couldn’t play athletics. The athletic director allowed him to begin playing again after reviewing the athletic code. Four weeks later, his son was pulled into the athletic director’s office again and was told he was suspended again over the same incident.