There is a fine line between right and wrong, and it cannot be denied that many of us have different views of where that line lies.
For the past six months, I have been battling with Joliet School Board and its administration. I have a strong legal case against the school and could have pursued it if I so chose; however, I did not. I chose to pursue change at the school level via the official complaint process.
After I posted to Facebook informing everyone that I had been told I would no longer be a coach at Joliet after track was over, I received an inundation of messages. A lot of those were from parents shocked and outraged, but even more were from people in Joliet schools, as well as those who have left or been released, telling me they too had a terrible experience working at Joliet schools. This was intriguing because my post never portrayed my feelings about the hostile work environment in Joliet. The things I was being told were so concerning, combined with my experiences, that I felt something had to be done.
I never had any intention of suing the District. I have chosen the administrative complaint route in hopes that Joliet Schools would be willing to take an honest look at the issues and make a respectable attempt to fix them. That is not what has happened. The District has chosen to run everything through their legal counsel and run up legal bills, wasting tax payer money. They have chosen to ignore children crying in their offices over the release of a coach they liked and admired. They have chosen to ignore parents’ requests and concerns for them to reconsider. This is only my situation, if the administration buried these student and parent concerns, it’s scary to think what else they have buried.
To be clear, I was fired because a few powerful people at Joliet schools do not like me. Everyone agreed I was good at my job and knowledgeable, according to Superintendent Begger and Principal Hernandez. Do you believe that’s acceptable? How would you feel if they treated your daughter that way? How do you feel about the message that sends to your daughters and sons in Joliet schools? How do you feel about the School Board not questioning the Superintendent when multiple parents spoke out at a public Board meeting? These are questions the community needs to grapple with.
I am writing here to ask the community to speak up. Fear of retaliation only proves my allegations. Our children deserve better.
What I believe would be an acceptable start, is for the School Board to provide Superintendent Begger with professional mentoring and training to help him be an effective administrator. As Superintendent Begger told me, he’s “just a middle school social studies teacher.” I understand that, but unfortunately he is now our Superintendent and is responsible for our kids’ futures. He does not know how to manage people. He needs help and it’s the responsibility of the Board to get him that help.
I would like for this matter to be resolved without further outside intervention; however, if the Board continues to ignore this situation and takes no steps to remedy it, I will forward the entirety of my complaint and evidence to OPI, as well as the Department of Education. We have the chance to make this right and ensure our students have a safe, welcoming, respectful environment in which to learn. Without a diverse, quality staff, you can never build that environment for our kids.
What follows is a snapshot of my story, that I had not intended to tell so publicly, but now feel it necessary. I am writing to defend myself. The report that was released by the school should never have been released. This report violates privacy laws in that it unreasonably places me in a false light before the public. If this is litigation strategy, it is sorely misguided. I did not file this complaint to get my job back. I love coaching and I am going to continue coaching Joliet athletes, just not in the employ of the school. Further it is filled with so many errors and falsehoods, it actually creates more of a legal liability for the District.
The school, and its lawyer, chose to release the report of the investigation into my claims that Joliet Schools is a hostile work environment replete with bullying, harassment, intimidation and retaliation amongst staff. In this report, there are multiple errors and downright falsehoods. The report begins by incorrectly stating the date I filed the complaint was May 24th, it was May 4th. My dates of employment with the district are also incorrect. According to the report, I started assistant coaching cross country in the fall of 2023. I started coaching cross country the fall of 2021, and began assistant coaching track the spring of 2022. A little further in that paragraph, Mr. Begger’s name is spelled wrong. These are just simple errors that were overlooked. Yet, the District and Board are relying on this information as fact.
Here is a link to the report: Policy 1700 Complaint Investigation Report
It’s important to note here that the report is the only thing the school board saw. I emailed each board member a copy of my complaint because I was concerned they would not see it. I did not include any evidence or additional comments at that time, but I did provide all of that to the investigator. The Board never saw any of this evidence, or my comments. Unfortunately, it based its decision on a factually incorrect and incomplete report.
Going further into the report, it states that I filed the complaint following Superintendent Begger’s decision to not renew any of my coaching contracts. Technically this is true. I did file the official complaint after I was informed I was no longer welcome as a coach at Joliet Schools; however, that is not where it started.
The appropriate way to approach a hostile work environment complaint is to first report it to administration. I emailed Superintendent Begger outlining my concerns, on March 8, 2024, after repeated unsuccessful attempts to discuss my concerns with Activities Director Rowlison and Principal Hernandez. Mr. Begger and I met on March 12. In that meeting he accepted responsibility for the hostile work environment, and said it was his leadership that had created the environment and it was his responsibility to fix. He has taken no steps to fix the issues, this is why I filed the complaint.
If you refer to the second full paragraph on page 3, I provided emails where Mr. Rowlison emailed outside organizations telling them I am overzealous and that I’m bugging him. Those are the ones he forwarded to me. Who knows what he said in the ones he wouldn’t forward or the verbal conversations he had about me. Superintendent Begger was aware of these emails and stated that it was unacceptable. If the investigation were accurate, this would have been portrayed.
I provided email evidence of Mr. Rowlison scheduling athletic department meetings while I had practice. I also provided email evidence of Mr. Rowlison telling me that the previous track coach said it was this way, so that is how it is, completely diminishing my concerns. These were just the emails, there is much more, but the emails alone clearly show that AD Rowlison’s behavior “significantly interfered with my opportunities and my work performance.”
The first full paragraph on page 4 is so factually incorrect, the only way you could tease out the truth is if you knew exactly what had happened. I will not name that person, as the school and lawyer chose to leave them out of this, even though they were named in my complaint. All I will say, for now, is that this assistant coach confirmed to me, via email, that they are not a certified personal trainer.
The paragraph of the redacted information really gets me. You cannot see that part of the report, neither can I, nor can the Board as verified by the Board Clerk, but I am aware of the content matter. Three times I have reported the same male individual for inappropriate contact with females. I witnessed two of the incidents and the last was verbally relayed to me, but verified by an adult witness. Mrs. Hernandez and Superintendent Begger did not follow proper procedure when I reported these events. The last report was the only time any sort of investigation was initiated because I sent an email weeks later informing them I was aware they were doing nothing. Previously I made the mistake of reporting the incidents verbally. Lesson learned. Everything needs to be in writing with this administration.
The report goes on to discuss the incidents with Mr. Warburton, on page 5. These were extremely disturbing and at no time that day did I approach him to discuss anything. Both times he approached me and stood intimidatingly over the top of me and did not allow me to leave until he was done. There is also an adult witness to the altercation on the field. That person was interviewed by the investigator; however, the witness’s story and what is written in the report do not align. Also, an innocent person does not immediately run to defend themselves if there is nothing to defend.
The next issue the report tackles is the authority of the high school head coach over the middle school head coach. At all times, my only concern has been that athletes are safe and there be continuity in the programs. This season, I provided training materials and told Mr. Warburton he could use them if he chose, but he did not have to. The only request I had was that he follow the warmup so the kids could get used to it before high school, as it was very different from the warmup he was planning to use. In his warmup, he included static stretching before working out, which every fitness person knows increases injuries and decreases athletic performance. I asked him to stop including this in the warmup, and encountered resistance with this issue as well.
As for the head coach authority, I was told multiple times by Mrs. Hernandez that I had authority over the middle school program and I could tell them what to do if I wanted. Also that it was easy to get rid of a coach at any time. Unfortunately, even my minimal interventions seemed to ruffle feathers and Mrs. Hernandez did not have my back when both Mr. Warburton and his predecessor, Mr. Fritz, became upset. Interestingly, when I finally held Mr. Warburton’s hand to the fire in a meeting with AD Rowlison, Mrs. Hernandez and Mr. Begger, he admitted that yes, if I had treated him the way he treated me, he would be upset.
In a small school, we have an opportunity to work together far more than they do in the A and AA schools. Why wouldn’t we take advantage of that and work the middle school and high school programs along the same principles so that we can raise successful athletes and programs? It seems to me that coaches’ egos are getting in the way of athlete success at Joliet Schools and that is a shame.
The first full paragraph on page 6 is an interesting one. It ties back to an earlier paragraph that discussed the calf strain injury and the personal trainer certification. Here it states that I “intervened and objected to the hiring of an assistant track coach.” This is correct. I wrote an email to Mrs. Hernandez, Mr. Rowlison and Mr. Begger explaining my position. A few days later, I was informed, by Superintendent Begger, that he was going to recommend the School Board hire the assistant coach, despite my concerns.
I was bothered by this because I felt I had valid concerns about the safety of the athletes that were completely being ignored due to personal feelings about me on the part of the administration and a couple Board members. I felt the entire Board needed to hear why I was concerned, so I wrote an email to them outlining why I did not feel it appropriate to hire the assistant coach.
Below is an excerpt from the email I sent to the Board outlining my concerns with hiring this individual:
Unable to understand the workouts or implement them
Consistently pushes the kids past their abilities
Teaches unsafe form and lifting techniques in the weight room
Works out with the kids, instead of coaching them, even after being repeatedly asked not to
Brings water bottles, notebooks and cases to school covered in marijuana stickers. This was brought to my attention by the athletes (Post note to the reader: Yes, you read that correctly. I have pictures. I did not provide the pictures to the Board, as Superintendent Begger also personally saw the marijuana marketing paraphernalia and I trusted him to relay this information.)
Encourages athletes to attempt unsafe maneuvers, such as backflips, by placing bets with them, with actual incentives
Falsified job application for this position stating that they are a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT), yet they have now verified that they currently hold no fitness certifications. They do not feel it necessary.
According to the report, “the activities director and other involved staff seemed to view her intervention in this hiring process negatively, rather than her responsibility as the high school head coach.”
The School Board proceeded to hire the individual and I was told not to have anything to do with them. This incident, alone, is enough to prove that I am held to different standards than other employees and was not afforded the same level of respect or opportunities as my colleagues.
As for the paragraph that begins at the bottom of page 6, I’m guessing a few of you reading this know exactly what it is about. Any of the 2023 middle school track parents will most likely be shocked to learn what came about as a result of voicing their concerns to me about a two mile running punishment. When I relayed these concerns, I was demeaned and belittled by Isaac Fritz, in person and via email.
Here are just a few of the things he wrote to me:
“Here is some food for thought for you. I am more interested in coaching with others who value working together rather than being right.”
This was in response to an email I sent him with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education position statement against using physical activity as punishment.
“As to the complaints from parents. I haven't seen any. So it makes me wonder if really, the most concerned is actually you.”
Mr. Fritz did not believe that parents would speak to me before speaking to him and continually accused me of being the one who had the issue.
“Accountability is something we value. We value that even more than being in tip top shape for the next meet.”
Mr. Fritz, unfortunately, believes that the only thing I care about in coaching is winning. I take comfort in knowing that the athletes I have coached and their parents know that this is not true.
All of these statements from Mr. Fritz were passive aggressive responses to my attempts to professionally and maturely discuss some concerns I had with him. His tone and demeanor did not change in conversations with the AD and Principal present, and they never asked him to be respectful towards me.
The next paragraph violates federal law on multiple levels. It once again comes nowhere near telling the correct story. Disappointingly, this was handled inappropriately on the administrative level at the time, and is currently being mishandled by the school lawyer, setting the District up for loss of federal funding.
The report goes on to state that, taken together, my allegations could be harassment, but that they do not fit the definition because “the offensive conduct must be severe or
pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable
person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive,” and their conclusion is that the environment in Joliet schools does not fit this definition.
Here is an excerpt from my email to the investigator, “During my time coaching at Joliet schools, I have had doors physically shut in my face by male staff members, I have had to endure male coaches speaking with students about me negatively, my athletes and myself have been locked out of the building during practice, all while my thoughts and opinions have been repeatedly dismissed as inconsequential.” Would a reasonable person expect to encounter any of that in the workplace?
Further, my nervous system begs to differ with the report’s conclusion. Athletes have noticed me visibly shaking when I have to go in to the school. I told them on many occasions it was low blood sugar. Even though this was not accurate, I did not want them to worry. A reasonable person should not expect severe anxiety every time they enter their workplace because they have no idea what their coworkers and bosses are going to do to them that day.
This begs the question, why have I coached for as long as I have. I will admit, that I have found myself struggling these past couple years with knowledge of circumstances at the school and holding on to my job as a coach. I care about being there for the kids and I worry about their future with one less person there to protect them.
According to Superintendent Begger, I am “rigid in my morals and values, and he is more flexible, which is a criticism he will take all day long.” I cannot disagree with either of these statements. I do have a strong sense of my beliefs, but that does not mean that I do not respect others’ beliefs, nor do I prevent people from respectfully explaining their thoughts. I also agree with Mr. Begger in that he is flexible in his morals and values. This is something that disturbs me deeply, as I leave my children in his care, as Superintendent of the school, on a daily basis.
As to the allegation of retaliation, 11 days after I reported the inappropriate conduct on the part of the male staff member and found myself in the verbal altercations with Mr. Warburton, I was informed I could not be recommended for rehire due to “conflicts with staff members.” That’s a pretty clear “intentional adverse action” that would be easily demonstrable in court.
If you’ve read this far, thank you! This is my story, but as I stated above, there are more stories very similar to mine. I was hoping the investigation would uncover those and the School Board would have to take action. Unfortunately, the school and its lawyer chose to focus on defending themselves from presupposed litigation, instead of attempting to work out a solution.
I implore you to hold them accountable and compel them to do better.
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