I am the parent of a student and athlete at Gilroy High School.
I have been reading the newspaper articles about Jack Daley’s
”
reassignment.
”
I’ve also been talking to the community … in hair salons,
coffee shops and athletic fields.
Dear Editor,
I am the parent of a student and athlete at Gilroy High School. I have been reading the newspaper articles about Jack Daley’s “reassignment.” I’ve also been talking to the community … in hair salons, coffee shops and athletic fields.
I have yet to meet one person who feels that Coach Daley should NOT be athletic director.
In itself, that should be a statement to the board. But, apparently, it isn’t. After reading the article in Friday’s paper, it appears that the Gilroy Unified School District is forging ahead with replacing Coach Daley, thus making one stupid decision after another. Frankly, it’s appalling.
I would really love to know how many of them have been on a high school campus lately. If they had, they would know that guiding high school students via athletics and/or academics is probably the most difficult teaching job on the planet. And here we have a man who has put forth decades of dedication to those students and who has, more importantly, earned their respect and trust (not easy things to earn from teenagers). And what does the board do? Reassign him.
I cannot begin to fathom what the school board was thinking when they made that decision. Of course this is mainly due to the fact that school board refuses to tell us what they were thinking because it’s a “personnel matter.”
Maybe it’s just me, but there is something awfully convenient about saying that. After all, they don’t have to release the outcome of their investigation. They don’t have to tell us, the people who paid for the investigation, what happened. They don’t have to explain to the students, the ones affected by the outcome of the investigation, what happened. They don’t have to tell anyone anything.
Except, we don’t have to accept what the school board says without explanation. We pay them. They work for us and for all of the kids in Gilroy. We need to be able to trust that they make the best decisions possible for all of our children. And right now, by hiding behind a “personnel matter,” they are not making good decisions for anyone, let alone the students at GHS. And if you think this is solely a GHS matter, think again. If they can reassign Coach Daley for such nebulous reasons, they can reassign anyone for anything.
When it comes to public schools, it takes a village to raise and educate a child. Jack Daley was – and still is – an integral part of the village. It is time for the board to stop hiding behind excuses. Tell us what went wrong. Then fix the problem. Do not scapegoat a fine man and a fine AD.
Laurie Sontag, Gilroy
The Golden Quill is awarded occasionally for a well-written letter.
