A coaching controversy continues to divide Canton.
On January 9, the Canton City School’s Board of Education made a split decision, 3-2, against renewing McKinley football coach Ron Johnson’s coaching contract. Like the Board, the community has been split; many support the Board’s decision, while others are dead-set against it.
When the board organized a meeting with the public last Wednesday at McKinley Senior High School to bring these groups together and discuss the future of the program, everyone seemed to agree on one thing.
“It’s all about the kids,” said Wanda Grubbs, principal of Crenshaw Middle School. Those who attended the meeting were divided into groups to discuss the qualities they wish to see in a coach. Many groups said they believed that this issue had the kids at the core.
What exactly does that mean? To one group at the meeting, it meant a coach that can help players succeed on the field and look for a college best suited for them—be it Division I or Division III. To another, it meant a coach who teaches ethics and education as a primary focus, and football after that.
And the players—the ones who this is all supposed to be for—have a point of view all their own as well. Many of them want a coach who yes, will help them balance football and schoolwork so grades don’t slip. But they also want a coach who will help them win games on the field.
McKinley succeeded both on and off the field this past season. Of all the 32 Division I schools to make the playoffs this year, just 11 gained either Academic All-Ohio honors or Honorable Mention. McKinley has been one of those teams four years in a row. This season, just one of those teams went further than McKinley in the playoffs.
McKinley has also beaten archrival Massillon three years in a row, after losing four straight matchups against them from 2006-2009.
Kevin Stillwell, a sophomore who plays football for McKinley, said those recent successes both on and off the field speak for themselves.
“Come on, what more can you ask for?” Stillwell said.
But Johnson’s non-renewal as coach have others asking if there are other qualifications needed in a coach that the board of education wants to see.
“We just want to know one thing: why? And the board can’t even tell us that,” Stillwell said of Johnson’s dismissal.
Board president Rich Milligan said that for legal reasons, he couldn’t discuss specifics of why the board made its decision. However, he said that there had been “concern about communication issues,” and that those concerns may have been a contributing factor.
There are differing views on what kind of communication Johnson should have had with the parents, players, community and board of education. The dispute has been largely centered on the way he handled McKinley’s quarterback, Tyler Foster, last season.
Johnson drew criticism from Foster’s mother when he tried to make arrangements to take the quarterback with him to Florida to play in an All-American game. An article appearing in the Canton Repository said that Johnson, who had been asked by organizers of the Blue-Gray All-American Classic, communicated only with his quarterback, and not Foster’s mother.
At the meeting Wednesday, several community members expressed a desire for a coach who communicates well with the parents. Some even suggested that everything concerning the McKinley football program should be openly shared with the whole community.
But not all of the students agreed.
“The parents need to stay in the stands and let us play on the field,” said Stillwell. “We’re the ones who’re with the coach all through summer, on the field. The fans, and the board, they’re just in the stands.”
Others at the meeting searched for a compromise between the two sides.
McKinley Alumni Association President Mike Mullaly spoke on behalf of his table. His group said they believed that the successes in the program should be communicated out to the community, but not just by the coach. Another group suggested that a coach should communicate through the players to the parents.
But beyond addressing the issues that the board and community have had with the coach, the majority of McKinley’s players have had one overwhelmingly consistent message – keep Ron Johnson.
“It came out of nowhere,” said Jarrod Smith, a sophomore running back for the Bulldogs. “We don’t need it right now.”
Fellow teammate Jalen Dicenzi, a junior, echoed the sentiment. He said that he thinks the Board made the wrong choice for Canton City Schools.
The team has made efforts to make their feelings known to the board, including an online petition started by Austin Shaheen, a sophomore who transferred to McKinley from GlenOak this past year. The petition so far has 332 signatures.
It’s not only football players signing, either. The online petition has a comments section, where users can post why they’re signing the petition.
Tyra Weir, a female student athlete at McKinley, felt that Johnson was an excellent role model to all athletes and students at McKinley.
“He was a leader—what more does he have to prove to this community? The board has done the exact opposite of helping the students, and we’re going to do everything in our power to get him back. We love Coach Johnson,” Weir said in her comment.
But not all of the students think that they’re being given the attention they deserve.
“Our petitions haven’t been working,” said Smith.
Smith said that administrators told students they were not allowed to distribute petitions on school property, which is partly why they set up an online petition.
Milligan said it is a policy for Canton City Schools that students may not circulate petitions because they distract students from schoolwork.
Milligan also said, however, that he wouldn’t criticize how the students have handled the issue.
“If the students want to speak out, they should speak out,” Milligan said.
However, only a handful of students showed up to Wednesday’s meeting.
Milligan encouraged those who wish to speak to come to the school board’s next meeting on Feb. 13.
Loading ...