Laurel Highlands hires new football coach
After tabling the hiring of a head football coach for the 2019-20 school year last month, the Laurel Highlands School Board narrowly hired Richard Kolesar to fill the spot at Wednesday’s regular board meeting.
Five of the nine school directors voted to hire Kolesar with three passing on the vote and the lone nay coming from school board member Randy Raymond, who was participating in the meeting via telephone.
After the hiring, Chuck Christopher, president of the football boosters, said he has concerns about whether or not the new coach could be fully committed to the program because he was also hired to be the head ninth-grade baseball coach earlier in the meeting.
“I don’t believe a coach who’s coaching two positions can give 100 percent to an athletic club. That’s all I’ve got to say,” said Christopher.
The position became vacant when the board accepted the resignation of former head coach Jacob Just in January. Just spent one year as the team’s coach, finishing the season with a 3-7 record.
In addition, the school board also narrowly approved the hiring of Ryan Rates as head varsity softball coach by a vote of 5-0-4. After the vote, school board member Beverly Beal said she voted for the hiring because “it’s what the kids wanted.”
Details on both contracts including salary and length of contract have not yet been determined.
In other personnel moves, the board approved the following:
n Lisa Fields, 12-month head custodian position at Hutchinson Elementary, per terms of the collective bargaining unit
n DeAnna Jellick, cafeteria manager at Hutchinson Elementary, per terms of the collective bargaining unit