Howland school board approves new swim coach

HOWLAND -- Howland Local School District approved a motion hiring Kelsey Brocker as a volunteer varsity swim coach for the upcoming season.

During Monday's special meeting at H.C. Mines Elementary, the district and athletic director explained they were having trouble finding a full coaching staff, particularly a head coach, throughout the course of this year. During a workshop meeting Oct. 4, the board heard from athletic director Andrea Ferenac and concluded that the school faced a small window of time to find a new head coach, as well has having one approved in time for the season, under state regulations.

Former swim coach Brooke Thigpen spoke to the board about her concerns regarding the swim program and the school's efforts in finding a new coach. "I believe in Howland," Thigpen said. "I believe in the good that is in Howland. And I believe there are amazing things that are happening here.

"What worries me as a parent is that small decisions like the swim coach being voted on by the board, that created a mess, that ends up in the paper and everything else, what big decisions are the board making about my children and the future of Howland?"

Thigpen said she was replaced without a full understanding for her relief of duty.

At the meeting earlier this month, the board discussed the process of hiring Brocker, along with the progress made in doing so.

"In the prompting of these conversations, I was provided with some additional credentialing, but she is not fully credentialed. So, I got some of the pieces that were missing but not everything," Ferenac said before.

The official start date for the season is Oct. 27.

As part of another motion approved by the board, the district accepted donations for its Paw Pantry ($400), Glen Principal's Fund ($100) and robotics program ($5,000). Rick Bullford, Class of 1973, and David C. Miller donated to the Paw Pantry, Gurinder Singh donated to the principal's fund and the Robotics donation came through the Ohio Stem Learning Network to develop a fire / EMS robot with the Howland Fire Department.