Sacking Sachs?

[jdelisa]

a short term middle school principal and a long term varsity football coach all in one week (see below)?

obviously this doesn't seems like a mutual decision between Sachs and the Wantagh Board of Education.

also just found the Patch article and first five lame comments (wantagh.patch.com/articles/wantagh-students-rally-to-save-football-coach): "it'a about time"? "Let sleeping dogs lie" ? "“If it walks like a duck.." ? isn't this how lynch mobs start?

seems like only yesterday, actually the 2010 budget vote cycle, that the School District was heralding Sachs' (multiple) Nassau County Coaches Association Coach of the Year Award and 100th football win as a Wantagh "Point of Pride."

I'm sure the Board of Ed will stonewall any questions as a "personnel issue" but a longtime Wantagh employee, resident and local parent deserves better.

a sack? more like unsportsmanlike conduct by the Board of Ed.

---------------------------------------------
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Thank you for your interest in the Wantagh Public Schools. Please click below to view and apply for our current instructional and administrative vacancies. If there are no current vacancies in your certification area and you would like to apply for any future vacancies, please click on link below.

Coaching Positions

Varsity Boys' and Girls' Cross Country Coach

Varsity Football Coach

To apply for the coaching positions, please email Dan Butler, Athletic Director, at [e-mail] and attach your resume and cover letter by June 23, 2011.

[Chris_Wendt]

John,

I posted the following comment on Patch:

"Mr. Sachs will apparently remain a teacher in WHS, so there is some very favorable inference that can be legitimately drawn from that fact.

As far as why the coaching change, Mr. Sachs was offered an opportunity to explain or to give his version of the reason(s), but, according to this (Patch) article, he has declined to comment. But, he did not say that he does not know what the reasons are. Therefore, an inference can be taken that Mr. Sachs knows the reason, but, relying on the school board's obligation to keep the reason confidential, chooses to keep it private, himself.

Bottom line, to me, is that if Mr. Sachs wanted to save Mr. Sachs' coaching job, then he, Mr. Sachs, should be forthcoming about the reasons for the coaching change and put forth his defense against it, or at least any mitigating circumstances, if any exist, for those reasons.

A mob of kids marching, trying to 'save' Mr. Sachs' coaching assignment without even knowing Mr. Sachs' position on the real reasons (other than he still wants to coach football regardless of any other circumstances) is just adolescent behavior by student athletes trying to be loyal to their coach and mentor. They obviously need better education about adult problem solving the adjudication and resolution of serious differences that occur in real life.

Coach Sachs could certainly man-up and let those kids know what's really going on."

Respectfully,

Chris Wendt

[lilly]

Not a fan of Sachs. Don't know how he is as a coach. Don't care what anyone does in their personal life but when it affects my family dinner conversation, and not in a good way, I don't like it. I'm referring to another "resignation" a few short years ago of a young female gym teacher due to inappropriateness between her and Sachs. Those were conversations I didn't want to have then with my kids when they came home from school with the latest news.

I don't buy the role model, mentor thing. He doesn't deserve it. He certainly didn't put his own family first in that matter as "good" men do.

I also don't like the fact that he is our highest paid teacher with stipends built into his contract for varsity wins as if Wantagh were running some sort of professional league, lol.

We're supposed to be in the business of academics first (something that escapes this BOE sometimes). Rather that $ go to the 4th grade teacher(s) or others who consistently deliver outstanding results NYS tests or other measure of good teaching results. It all sends a wrong message about the misguided priorities in Wantagh.

Funny how the announcement was made after the May elections and sports banquets.

[jdelisa]

for lilly: 1) Don't know how he is as a coach. - for one very busy, rewarding year of my life, I needed to know stuff like that, so from my football notes:

Keith Sachs is Wantagh's winningest (number of games & percentage & play-offs) and the longest tenured (1992 - ?) head football coach ; prior coaches included:

Joe Marcino: (10 years) 50-26-3
Bob Frink: (10 yrs) 65-43-6
Jim Grady: (6 yrs) 32-19-1
Ed Snitofsky: (8 yrs) 24-27-4

aside from team awards, he's got a bunch of his own personal awards that the school districts points out when convenient.

2) Not a fan of Sachs. - to this day, I refuse to believe that there is a parent in the world who at some time didn't question their kid about some play or substitution or comment their sports coach made in a game. the way my kids taught me who the really good coaches were among the few so-so ones along the way was when they could explain the how and why of the call and how, as a team, it made sense (and what a jerk I was for not seeing it). Keith, for me, warts and all, is an acquired taste but after years of freezing between touchdowns and broiling inning after inning, like a good scotch, it's a good taste especially if you see and hear the interaction between him, his skillful selection of assistant coaches and our kids. perfect? no, but perfect in the role.

3) as far as any smoking off-the-field activities driving this attempted firing, I totally agree with Chris' take above except when he spoke about "a mob of kids" and their "adolescent behavior." I believe that all our students should be better educated about solving adult problems and disagreements but we don't see it coming currently from the Board of Ed.

I congratulate all involved in what I hope was a student-driven rally, given it peaceful and clear message (perhaps a lesson for the BoE), the on-line petitions starting up on www.ipetitions.com/petition/reinstatesachs/ and www.petitionvoice.com/reinstate-keith-sachs-as-head-coach-petition.html and even the couple of #LetSachsCoach and other twitter hashes that have popped up. I think these on-going grass roots protests and interaction with the BoE will be a good lesson in our local, often under-used, democracy.

the BoE didn't officially select this past year's varsity and JV coaches until their 7/14/10 meeting, so there seems to be time to work out whatever problem, personnel, communication or otherwise, exists.

[lilly]

Thanks for your articulate rationale.

I would like to know the exact reason. Have heard too many rumors over the last 2 days. The horse's mouth, i.e., Sachs 'manning up' would be a good start.

[lilly]

PS, Once again, gotta love the patch's deft moderating (NOT).

[Chris_Wendt]

I think this discussion should be ratcheted down a couple of notches.

1. An advertisement for the Football Coach position appeared...

2. At this time of the school year, there is no football coach, and the school year ends this month.

3. It appears that Coach Sachs will not be the football coach in the new school year, given the advertisement, and the fact that Coach had "No Comment" when asked about this.

4. The Board of Education has taken no adverse action concerning Coach Sachs, at least none that I am aware of...he has continued his teaching and baseball coaching duties.

5. The Board of Ed does not select coaches for sports teams. While the BoE does officially appoint coaches and every other person in any paid capacity in the district, in the case of coaches, their selection is the responsibility of the Athletic Director.

6. The Athletic Director makes his/her selections and recommends them to the Superintendent of Schools who may approve or not approve those selections.

7. Selections made by the Athletic Director and approved by the Superintendent are then recommended by the Superintendent for appointment by the Board of Education.

If the Athletic Director de-selected Coach Sachs from coaching football, then there would be no approval needed or even possible from the Superintendent, nor would there be any recommended motion from the Superintendent for the Board of Education to appoint Coach Sachs next year. Nor would there be any vote by the Board against appointing Coach Sachs, because, realistically, he would no longer be in contention for that appointment.

The same scenario would hold true if the Superintendent disapproved a selection of Coach Sachs from the Athletic Director, and thus made no recommended motion concerning Coach Sachs for the Board of Education to vote upon, for-or-against.

It would certainly not be appropriate for the Board of Education to select, approve, recommend and appoint Coach Sachs to coach football in 2011, on their own volition, without the full support of the Athletic Director and Superintendent beforehand.

Hiring and retaining personnel for any capacity in our school district is an awesome responsibility and subject to process and to checks and balances all along the way.

For a long-time, winning coach with many loyal, even devoted student-players to not be appointed to continue as football coach really begs for explanation. You all know the Board of Education, the Superintendent, and the Athletic Director can not violate confidentiality concerning Coach Sachs who is an employee of the District. So, the only one left to clear the air is Coach Sachs, himself.

He does not have to reveal anything, but if he chooses to go that route, then neither is it fair for anyone to "blame" the Board of Education or the Administration for the resulting situation.

Does this have anything to do with Section VIII?

I don't know.

Chris Wendt

[renee]

Could someone tell me if coach Sachs is the highest paid teacher in Wantagh? I heard this and I cannot believe it to be true...

[Chris_Wendt]

Renee asked, incredulously:

"Could someone tell me if coach Sachs is the highest paid teacher in Wantagh? I heard this and I cannot believe it to be true..."

I am sure someone could tell you the answer, but I am not sure how that information would contribute to the discussion, or help to reduce the intensity of the rhetoric.

Mr. Sachs is a member of the teachers union, WUT, and is paid according to the terms and conditions of the the Teachers Contract agreed to by the Board of Education, as amended down through all the many years Mr. Sachs has been teaching at Wantagh.

Suffice it to say that any teacher who has worked as long as Mr. Sachs has worked in Wantagh, and who has attained the same educational level which Mr. Sachs has attained, and who has extended him/herself to take on additional responsibilities and duties such as those of which Mr. Sachs has availed himself, would earn the same as Mr. Sachs earns or has earned, with emphasis on "earned".

Sorry, but I do not see the comparative ranking of Mr. Sachs' income as being a relevant issue.

Regards,

Chris Wendt

[lilly]

Chris, your ex-BOE trustee is showing.

The terms & conditions of the teachers contract (which is agreed upon by the BOE) makes him the highest paid teacher in the district. Base salary + coaching stipends + additional stipends for play-offs = highest paid teacher in Wantagh. More than dept chairs and some principals. So running a school or academic dept is less "important" in Wantagh than sports.

Is it germane to the discussion, maybe/maybe not. But it definitely speaks to the BOE's and town's dysfunctional priorities. And given the state of our budget pressures, anyone at the top of Wantagh pay scales (and there are some great academic teachers on that list who are worth every penny) should be beyond reproach even though tenure/longevity technically doesn't require it.

JMO....

seethroughny.net/PayrollsPensions/tabid/55/Payrolls/StatePayroll/tabid/69/Default.aspx?BRANCHID=6

[george]

Parents and students who reported or complained about Sachs behaivor and treatment of students in the past were given the run around. I guess wins counted more than students. I went to AD Nocella over 10 years about treatment of a student on the football team and she did nothing. (he was not my son). She had a chance then and blew it. This decision, if rumors are true, have to do with treatment of a student. I am sure that the birds and bees with another gym teacher in his office(old news), did not help his case. All the past problems go in his file, but are not allowed to be discussed by administrators. So, I hope they do not hire him for baseball and make sure he behaves in school. Hard to fire him from his teaching job.

Been hard these last years, rooting for the boy's and at the same time rooting against Sachs. Now I can root full time. I feel for his wife and family. Him, he deserved this, they did not.

School Board-stick to your guns.