Holley residents react to change in athletic director

Holley residents react to change in athletic director

Close to 70 people packed the meeting room on July 23 waiting to voice their support for John Grillo, the man who held the athletic director position in the school for the past seven years. Grillo, whose contract was unanimously approved at the June 18 Holley School Board of Education meeting, saw it revoked at a later meeting, following an executive session, by a vote of six to three.

School attorney Jeff Martin said at the board meeting that there was a grievance filed by the Holley Teachers Association on behalf of another individual who wanted the AD position. Everyone in the room knew who the individual in question was but were not allowed to speak the name aloud. "My opinion, as this school's legal council was, based on the language in the contract was if the administration and this board didn't reverse their decision we could be facing arbitration and the district would lose," Martin said. "I think the world of John Grillo but I stand by my decision that according to the language in the teachers' contract, if two individuals are equally qualified then seniority takes precedence." In this matter, the other individual has more seniority than Grillo.

The idea of "equally qualified" sparked a firestorm of discussion from audience members.

"How can a person who has not held this position in more than 10 years be more qualified than the man who has been in the AD position for the past seven?" Rebecca Edwards asked board members. "There is no 'vacancy' that had to be filled in the AD role - John was in the position."

Dan McDonald, who has four children in the district, two in the athletic programs, asked why the board is trying to fix something that isn't broken. "Why are you doing this? You made a decision (to keep Grillo in the AD position) and now you need to stick by that decision and ride this out."

Parent after parent took to the podium and spoke to Grillo's commitment not only to the athletic department but to the students themselves. They shared stories of Grillo's being there when their children were in trouble - both in and outside of school - and how with Grillo's caring and support, their children pulled themselves up, got out of trouble and went on to compete in sports, set goals in life, graduate and move onto good things in life. One mother gave an impassioned speech saying, "When my son got into trouble with drugs and was kicked out of school and had to go to Park Ridge for rehab, John Grillo was the only person from this district who cared enough to call and keep in touch and see how he was doing." She said that her son eventually graduated and is now a volunteer firefighter who has also spent time helping Hurricane Katrina victims. "I thank John for giving my son a chance."

Gary DeFilips said he was disappointed in the board having reversed its decision. "He is the most qualified and in this district with its revolving doors of administrators, why add to it? Take a stand for what's right for the students, the district and the athletes."

Another resident asked, "What is equally qualified mean? If I have someone who is in the position versus someone who hasn't done it for seven years, how is that equally qualified?"

School Board President John Heise explained to those in attendance that because the grievance was filed, the board spoke with its attorney and a labor attorney and was advised to look at its decision again. "We changed our decision based on seniority and the language in the contract," he said.

Former Holley School Superintendent Vernon Hobbes said, "The last thing I wanted to do was to get up and speak at this meeting. I negotiated contracts in this district for seven-and-a-half years and this district had many grievances of key elements in a contract," he said. "The key here is you have a AD who did a fine job, who has outstanding recommendations and is dedicated to his responsibilities. All qualities are never equal and for the board to base its recommendations on qualifications and let seniority prevail could set a dangerous precedent in this district. When you know the community feels this strongly on a subject, you have to take that into consideration and not overturn a unanimous vote."

After conversation went on for more than an hour-and-a-half, Heise told residents at the meeting that the board had to move on to other agenda items. "There was another grievance filed and we will examine that in the next few days."

Following the board meeting, School Superintendent Robert D'Angelo was reached for comment," Unfortunately, because it's a personnel and legal issue, I just can't comment," he said.