Urbana High School Moving Forward Amid Athletic Director’s Resignation
Hall later pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to one year of conditional discharge. He also resigned, citing personal reasons.
Amid widespread community coverage, the Urbana School Board met Jan. 20 to vote on a final decision, during which Hall’s resignation was officially accepted.
Superintendent Donald Owen released a statement after the meeting: “The terms of Mr. Hall’s resignation are set forth in a separation agreement approved by the Board of Education at its Jan. 20, 2015, board meeting. Mr. Hall has made many contributions to the district and the athletic department at UHS during his service. Mr. Hall will be working with an interim Athletic Director, who has yet to be chosen, who will be assuming the day-to-day duties of the athletic program.”
As a result of Hall’s absence, UHS employees have had to do extra duties to cover his various school responsibilities. Tasks were divided up among administrators, with building use forms delegated to Principal Matthew Stark, while accident and injury reports went to Assistant Principal Michael Gourley, and transportation issues were referred to Assistant Principal Travis Courson. Athletic duties were split up further.
According to Stark, while administrators have assumed the bulk of the extra responsibilities, those employees’ compensation already includes such tasks.
Hall’s resignation will not go into effect until the end of the school year. However, the job opening for an interim athletic director was posted internally to members of the UHS staff. While the position remains interim as of now, it has the potential to become a permanent one.
“[The interim athletic director] will work with Mr. Hall for the transition because the position that he holds is a very complex position and with lots of detail,” Stark said. “We will need his expertise and his knowledge base to be able to continue to function to the highest level of efficiency.”
Some felt that the close proximity in which Hall would be working with the interim might deter women from applying. In addition, the district’s statements in support of Hall caused some concern that adequate support was not being shown for the victim.
Although Owen was contacted for comment, he was unable to remark on much of the situation due to “personnel and privacy matters.”
“I will say that I was appalled at the reporting in The News-Gazette regarding the amount of information they reported related to who the other individual was in this case. The reporter did everything but name the other individual, with no regard for that individual’s privacy rights in this matter,” Owen said.
Stark shared Owen’s disappointment in the local media coverage, adding, “I think the newspaper went way too far in details about her. … I think what a piece like that leads to is the potential to identify who that person is. In our justice system, one of the things that I think is absolutely necessary is the protection of the victim of a crime. … I feel like the person got re-victimized by the story.”
However, Stark hopes that students are able to take something constructive away from the recent events.
“I would love for our students to know that things are not as simple. … We all form opinions – and that’s human nature – but that we understand the complexity of an individual, that all of us have faults and all of us have strengths and that we recognize that,” Stark said. “And then for the school [as a] whole is that I hope … that we continue to function at a high level … and that we respect Mr. Hall’s privacy in this matter … and not make this a subject of gossip and innuendo … because that’s unfair and I just want us to move forward as a building.”
There were also concerns that information about the school board’s decision had been released to the press prior to the official meeting on Jan. 20.
“I can assure you that no one spoke to the press regarding Mr. Hall’s resignation prior to the board meeting,” Owen stated. “It is policy and practice not to discuss personnel issues or other sensitive topics with the press prior to a Board of Education action item or discussion item.”
The speculation came after a local reporter tweeted that the board would accept Hall’s resignation.
“There was a lot of frustration on a lot of peoples’ part that had been dealing with this since its beginning, including my own frustration, because that’s not how [that process is] supposed to go. … It also can be speculation, too,” Stark said, pointing to social media as a key component in the confusion.
What is evident is the need for a long-term solution, now that the initial situation has reached a conclusion.
“We have a lot of other things that have to fall in place so, basically, we need some help to take care of this,” Stark said, motioning behind him to stacks of paperwork.
According to information released in an email to the school community, Steve Waller – a UHS dean – has been hired as the interim athletic director./assistant principal pending board approval. Interviews for the available interim deans position were held today.
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