Surely some pieces to the puzzle are missing in the decision by
Superintendent Debbie Flores and the Gilroy Unified School District
Board of Trustees to dismiss longtime and beloved former Athletic
Director Jack Daley from his position.
Surely some pieces to the puzzle are missing in the decision by Superintendent Debbie Flores and the Gilroy Unified School District Board of Trustees to dismiss longtime and beloved former Athletic Director Jack Daley from his position.
Without those pieces being made public by the district, the judgment that overwhelmingly exists now in our community – that Mr. Daley has been unfairly treated – will prevail.
Maybe that’s the right judgment, maybe not. But the problem is that the school district is not making what it believes to be all facts clear or directly answering the questions that beg to be answered.
The standard line, “We can’t comment on that question because it’s a personnel issue,” just doesn’t cut the mustard. By not being forthcoming with the facts and, therefore, not getting in front of the issue, the district is creating bigger local political problems in a time when it already has its hands full with budgetary issues.
It’s really a shame, because the core of this Board – Tom Bundros, Jaime Rosso, Rhoda Bress and Mark Good – is as solid as Gilroy has had in quite some time.
The Board and superintendent should remember that the advice of an attorney is just that – advice. After receiving it, Board members should put it in context. At this point, since Mr. Daley has already retained an attorney, laying out all the facts for the public carries little jeopardy. Furthermore, two legal claims have been filed against the school district related to fired track coach Alvin Harrison’s DUI wreck while on a student field trip, so the district’s position will become public in court records.
But that’s down the road. The community deserves to know what the district says it knows now. To that end, the district should publicly release the investigative report it commissioned – a report paid for with our tax dollars. It will likely show warts in the procedures related to checking the validity of driver’s licenses and communication errors made prior to accident. That’s expected, but will it show that Mr. Daley demonstrated such poor judgment or committed such egregious errors that he should be dismissed and told that he cannot coach children in our school district? Will it make clear why those miscues weren’t serious enough for Mr. Daley to be fired outright?
Something is missing. For the good of the community, the school district should make all the facts clear before further harm is done.