Citizens speak up for HISD coach

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Several citizens showed up to address the Hedley ISD Board of Trustees last Tuesday night, April 2, in the wake of the board voting not to renew the contract of Athletic Director and Coach Darrell Wallace.

Wallace, who is finishing his first year at Hedley, was reportedly blindsided when the board considered employee contracts at a March 19 meeting and voted not to accept the superintendent’s recommendation to renew his contract.

Minutes of the March 19 meeting have not been made available, but sources tell the Enterprise that three board members – Dana Bell, Ted Wright, and Mark Howard – voted to accept the recommendation to renew Wallace. But they were opposed by Karen Watt, Tonja Ruthardt, James Edward Potts, and Bonnie Brown.

Five citizens spoke up last week in Wallace’s defense during public comments, and one spoke against him.

Troy Monroe said he didn’t think the board had given Wallace enough time to turn things around, and Katherine Monroe said the issue was not just about Wallace but about the future of the school, the town, and the kids and she questioned the personal motives of the board.

Wallace himself presented four letters from area coaches attesting to his character and the work he has done at Hedley.

“I want to bring something positive to Hedley, and these letters show that I’ve done what you hired me to do,” Wallace told the board, reminding them that he was asked to focus on discipline when he was hired.

“We’ve lost one more game in football than last year and won two more in basketball,” he said. “So this isn’t about wins and losses as much as we would like it to be.”

Hedley teacher Linda Naylor said she objected to Wallace taking credit for all the good things happening in terms of discipline and said she had heard numerous complaints about the coach from parents. Most serious, she said, was an allegation of Wallace being angry and driving recklessly in a school bus following a game loss.

Superintendent Bill Sanders began to answer Naylor, noting that this complaint had never been brought to him, but board member James Edward Potts cut him off and said that the superintendent was not a member of the board and not allowed to speak.

Sanders then signed in as a member of the public and later called complaints against Wallace “phantom allegations.”

Hedley coach Garrett Baines gave an impassioned talk in support of Wallace, calling him a man of high moral character.

Enterprise reporter Fred Gray asked board members why they had voted to non-renew Wallace. Board member Karen Watt said the board had not voted to “non-renew” Wallace. Instead, she said, they were considering contracts for renewal, and when they came to Wallace’s, they simply voted three “for” and four “against.”

Gray then asked to see the minutes from the March 19 meeting, but he was told they had not been approved by the board.

Gray asked for the reason Wallace was not renewed. Board members responded that the discussion had been in closed session, and Potts said the reason was “nobody’s business.”

No action regarding Wallace was taken following the public comments. The board is scheduled to meet again next Tuesday, April 16.