NASHUA – Weighing reported complaints of alleged mistreatment against years of positive reviews, the Board of Education narrowly upheld the athletic director’s decision to terminate Nashua North’s head field hockey coach, Kristine Tingley, and junior varsity coach, Karen Gagnon, on Wednesday evening.

The decision came days before the field hockey team is set to reconvene for fall.

Athletic Director Lisa Gingras dismissed Tingley and Gagnon on June 13 following the spring lacrosse season. Tingley has led the field hockey program since 2010, and Gagnon was the co-coach of the girls lacrosse team with Tingley.

The coaches allege that they were wrongfully terminated after signing a renewal contract, and given no specific cause for termination. After appealing to district administrators in July, they took their argument to the city’s Board of Education for a final ruling.

Following deliberations late Wednesday, board members voted 5-4 to

support the decision to terminate. The nay voters cited a lack of formal, documented complaints detailing issues with the two coaches.

“I can’t support this motion. I think there was a lack of procedural compliance and a lack of documentation,” said board member Doris Hohensee.

Member Bill Mosher agreed. “I feel the proper procedures were not fulfilled,” he said.

Hohensee advocated for other disciplinary action.

“At best, I would want a plan for remediation, especially after they recently signed a contract. These are really good coaches that have put their heart and soul into their teams, and they are not infallible,” she said.

Board President Sandra Ziehm spoke in favor of the motion.

“As contentious of a hearing as we’ve had, I can’t imagine continuing with the hurt feelings we have here,” she said.

Because of the hearings, Ziehm said the board will work to clarify policy about tracking complaints and disciplining staff. Aside from Ziehm, board members Elizabeth Van Twuyver, George Farrington, Dorothy Oden and Robert Hallowell approved the motion to uphold the athletic director’s decision. Hohensee, Mosher, David Murotake and Howard Coffman voted against.

Tingley testified Monday, and Gagnon and Gingras testified Wednesday, followed by questions from the board and closing arguments by counsel. Attorney Daniel P. Schwarz represented the board and acted as mediator, attorney Peter J. Nicosia represented Tingley and Gagnon, and Steven A. Bolton, the city attorney, represented Gingras. About two dozen players and parents attended the hearing at the Nashua High School North board room.

Led by Nicosia, Gagnon began her testimony by reviewing her educational and career background. Aside from teaching in Tyngsboroughugh, Mass., for 31 years, she also coaches basketball, hockey, ice hockey and softball in Tyngsborough. The upcoming year in Nashua would have been her fourth year coaching in the district.

After being nominated in March 2016 to continue coaching this fall, Gagnon said she was surprised at the meeting with Gingras on June 13, when she and Tingley were terminated.

“We were totally blindsided. We were waiting for our evaluations,” she said.

The two later met with Superintendent Mark Conrad, who indicated the two were being terminated, but Gagnon said they were still not given a reason why.

While giving her testimony Wednesday, Gagnon said she was still not clear on the complaints leveled against her.

Bolton asked if the last season was particularly difficult.

“We did have some difficult seniors. They were very entitled,” Gagnon said, “There was a lot more disciplining this year than any year I have coached.”

Gingras testified after Gagnon. Because of the public forum, Gingras said it was hard to discuss details of specific complaints since it could single out students, but said there were 10 separate complaints from students, and seven from parents.

“I have personally witnessed girls crying on the sidelines,” she said. “These girls were clearly upset because of how they were being spoken to, yelled at, in front of their teammates.”

Gingras said a parent called the coaches’ treatment of players “sad,” and that coaches frequently made negative comments about players on the field to girls on the sideline. “When a girl is walking off the field, and her chin is so tight to her chest because she doesn’t want to look at her coach – that’s sad,” Gingras said.

She said she also “constantly” received feedback about the coaches using profanity. Gingras read an anonymous parent’s email complaint from May 2016: “I found the coaches to be very cruel, foul-mouthed, and self-serving.” Another parent complaint from June 2016 read, “The behavior and coaching style of Coach Gagnon and Coach Tingley is unhealthy, and in my opinion, not in the best interest of the team.”

With fall season set to start in coming weeks, Gingras said parents want to know who is coaching this season before their daughters join the team.

Nicosia asked Gingras why her past evaluations of Gagnon and Tingley did not address the complaints.

“I see nothing other than compliments, almost the highest marks in nearly every category,” Nicosia said.

Gingras said the majority of complaints came to her attention after the evaluations.

Mosher, with the board, asked whether past complaints were ever formally addressed. Gingras said the complaints led to conversations with the coaches, but not formal complaints.

“Why not have something put into their files?” Mosher asked. Gingras said she can’t answer that, but she will do that moving forward.

Member Robert Hallowell asked if evaluation forms were typically used to address complaints. “It was the practice of the seven athletic directors who were here prior to me,” Gingras said.

In his closing argument, Nicosia addressed the board.

“If you uphold the termination, you will set a very dangerous precedent,” he said, adding that an uncorroborated complaint could then lead to termination.

“All of these allegations, that we’re hearing for the first time this evening, the coaches were never offered an opportunity to mount a rebuttal to them,” Nicosia said.

As the fact-finding body, he said the board didn’t have much to work with.

“You haven’t been provided with dates, times, games, events, names of the supposed aggrieved parents, players. You don’t have a single report, you don’t have a single email – all you have is the uncorroborated, alleged details from the athletic director.”

Nicosia said the coaches deserve a second chance.

“Based on what you have here, there are zero grounds to terminate,” he said.

Bolton said the dangerous precedent would be not supporting administrative staff.

“You’re employing (Gingras) to make a tough decision – and she made it,” he said. “You have employees that can be terminated at will when your administrative staff determines that they are not providing the kind of environment that your students come to expect.”

He added that the complaints are corroborated, since the series of complaints refer to the same behavior from the coaches, as well as situations Gingras personally witnessed.

Tina Forbes can be reached at 594-6402, tforbes@nashuatelegraph.com or @Telegraph_TinaF.

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