By: Diane Benjamin
We don’t know what happened in the Unit 5 School Board secret meetings that caused Coach Hess to resign. Some have questioned if the football coach at Normal Community resigned for the same reason.
If paying assistant coaches had anything to do with it, I just received the emails where it was authorized at high levels back in 2015. I don’t know a lot of these names since I don’t live in Unit 5 and my kids did not attend school there. I’m leaving it up to the concerned citizens to read these and figure out the real story.
These are emails from 2015 discussing payments from the boosters to Normal West for coaches: FOIA-Part 1
These are emails from November and December of 2017 questioning payments to coaches: FOIA-Part 2
Since the meeting is tonight, I want you to have this information. People who know the situation need to read these and let me know. It certainly appears payments to assistant coaches was a problem.
And this suddenly was a problem?. Looks like the chain of command was followed, to include the AD. Not sure what’s so different now? Where’s the supposed technicality that got the coach removed? How did 3 bully parents get involved with payroll/funding issues and how was it their business? If I’m reading correctly, it looks like there was a resolution to the funding issues that was approved somehow by someone. The worst I read in that exchange is the frustration with low or no pay. I’m pretty confident that describes most people in the workforce.
Being a parent of a former Wildcat football player I call Bull on all this. When the so called activity fee was implemented after a couple years of endless fundraising for football I started putting the numbers together, I spoke with 2 Unit 5 board members to get clarification where that money went the first one had no clue then Mr Lay threw all kinds of answers which weren’t the right ones. He finally admitted to me the money went into the general fund to pay for books and the likes. It was worse than pulling teeth. I tried to get parents on the bandwagon as its totally unfair to believe our hard earned money was not being used for what they portrayed it to be. No one wanted to fight the higher ups. My heart is sick for Coach Hess how dare they dupe him. Add this to my reasons for hating Unit 5. Prayers for all of the Coaching staff of the Wildcats they give their heart and soul and get this
I filmed the parents who commented tonight, story tomorrow.
Thank you in advance, Unit 5 does a lot of dirty dealings and loves to sweep it under the rug
So that looks to be accounting issue?
Not like the one guy in particular just started. He’s been getting paid for a while and paid after the reductions in staff.
Don’t get it.
Did they need a fall guy for an accounting issue?
I think need a fall guy is correct, we just don’t know for what.
Well let’s sit back and really see what kind of school we have working for us and our children, and see If they are really a school board for ALL the students, and tax payers, or just ONE student, and his selfish father. As a tax payer if they can’t open their eyes and see the big picture of what is really going on after tonight, and grow a pair, and quit being a bunch of cowards, taking the easy way out, then it’s time to vote to have them removed, because they will have shown that they don’t have the best interest in mine for ALL of the students!!
Appears to me and many others that in 2015 a group of educated men (coaches/AD’s) began to brainstorm how to better manage 85-100 athletes with only 5 paid positions. Those fellas asked for guidance from their leadership and that leadership then asked for guidance from their leadership. The question we should be asking is…what was the top leaderships response to payment of volunteer assistants and was it followed or not. We dont see that in an email because at the top they know better than to put certain decisions down electronically…Leaders of young men looked for answers, did they get them and not follow them??? or did they follow what they were told was ok to do and it just now conveniently gives them the out they need to get a lawsuit threat to go away…??? How many times in our lives to things happens that conveniently without a plan…those at the top need to be asked the right questions…and then answer them with the integrity that Unit 5 prides itself on…