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School district finishing athletics investigations

Tuesday, June 16, 2009
(Updated 3:33 pm)
By Robert Bell
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — The investigations into the athletics programs at Northern Guilford and Page high schools are expected to conclude this month.

Jill Wilson, the attorney for Guilford County Schools and the lead investigator in both cases, confirmed the timetable Monday. She said the biggest obstacle remaining is to schedule follow-up interviews with students’ parents and school personnel, an indication that the investigative portion of the probe is complete.

“I can see this wrapping up very soon if everyone can get their schedules worked out and we can meet,” Wilson said. She declined to discuss specifics of the investigation at either school.

Guilford County Schools has been investigating athletics eligibility issues at both high schools this spring.

In May, school district officials released preliminary findings that five students participating in four sports at Northern Guilford lived outside the school’s attendance zone. The school system’s findings resulted in the forfeiture of games or matches in four sports — boys’ basketball, baseball, wrestling and junior varsity softball. The basketball team, which was found to have used two ineligible players, forfeited its 3-A state championship.

At Page, the school system’s investigation centers on the football team’s use of an ineligible player during the 2008 season. School officials said they reported the infraction to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association after learning one of their players lived outside the school’s attendance zone.

County Schools officials considered the matter closed until Patricia Hughes, the mother of Gabe King, the ineligible player, told the News & Record that Page officials knew King was ineligible but played him anyway.

Schools officials said they were looking into Hughes’ allegation.

Also Monday, Wilson said she has not had a chance to review financial documents provided Thursday by former Northern Guilford basketball coach Stan Kowalewski. Kowalewski’s attorney, David Brown, said the documents are photocopies of checks, deposit slips and statements for a checking account opened for the Northern Guilford’s boys’ basketball team.

Wilson requested the documents in May after the schools system’s investigation into Northern determined that Kowalewski had used the account to pay for personal services such as landscaping, a home exterminator and a gynecologist.

Kowalewski, who spent at least $5,200 from the account for personal services since December, has said he was repaying himself for expenses he had incurred on behalf of the basketball team.

“We never shied away from complete disclosure,” Brown said Monday. “It just took awhile to get everything together. We’re confident that this information will enable Guilford County and Stan to move forward from all this.”

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or robert.bell@news-record.com

 

Accompanying Photos

Margaret Baxter (News & Record)

Comments

This article has been closed to new comments. Comments are generally closed after 14 days. However, comments may be closed earlier at the discretion of the News & Record.

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DaveW

June 15, 2009 - 10:34 pm EDT

Let's all see what they find out about the Northern football program. They may have actually outrecruited Stan.Did not one of the released emails earlier from the Eastern head coach state that Northern got 8 players from Northeast? How about the kid that during 2-a-days practiced at Page in the morning and at Northern in the evening on the same day? Let's hope Jill can get to the bottom of this. Those of us that teach and coach and follow the rules can take losing games to others that are doing things right. We get really irritated when we lose to dishonest programs. The kids know what is going on and it undercuts us teaching them to do the right things when adults in our same positions are not. Before the "get rid of athletics people" invade this site remember that coaches that have integrity are in fact modeling that behavior for student/athletes.It is necessary and helpful to society for any group of students no matter how small the number to gain some valuable character education that coaches that do things right provide.

dcolin

June 16, 2009 - 12:35 am EDT

Are you both a coach and a teacher?

If so what course.?

DaveW

June 16, 2009 - 8:45 am EDT

I have taught a number of different courses in my career. Biology, earth science, physical science, health and physical education and have run in-school-suspension. It has been a long career at times but also both rewarding and fun as well.

dcolin

June 16, 2009 - 9:48 am EDT

What exactly is in-school-suspension.

What does one do.

DaveW

June 16, 2009 - 10:30 am EDT

ISS is an alternative disipline for kids violating the GCS code of conduct.They have to stay in a room isolated from their classes but are sent work (enough to last a class period) by their teachers. They complete their assignments and still get credit for being in attendance that school day but are not in class. This is a good method for punishing lesser offences such as cutting class without having to put the student out of school with a suspension. I would assume that anyone having to ask what is ISS does not have a child in high school or middle school.

dcolin

June 16, 2009 - 11:27 am EDT

Not for years and years.

bigwill

June 16, 2009 - 12:14 pm EDT

What exactly is the point of your comments, dcolin? I'm not sure if anyone here really understands your remarks, please explain.

dcolin

June 16, 2009 - 1:33 pm EDT

Just curious.
Strange teaching assignment.
No disrespect meant to DaveW

I would assume the teacher would rotate in during free periods etc as opposed to having a full time position.

There is nothing to teach,no lesson plans,no grading etc.

Could certainly save money if they did rotate.

Panacea

June 16, 2009 - 7:47 am EDT

Dave, if that's how you run your program (and I have every reason to believe you do) then as a citizen you have my full support.

I reiterate: athletics can have a positive place in schools. I simply believe a house cleaning is in order.

DaveW

June 16, 2009 - 8:51 am EDT

Thank you for your last 3 posts on this subject. You are making good sense now that you understand not to punish the masses for the transgressions of a very small number that happen to get all the attention.Unfortunately for society in general negative publicity gets people reading the paper in greater numbers. To Robert Bell , again you have done a fine job covering this ongoing situation.
I can also say this, at my GCS high school NONE of our coaches run a dirty program and most of them have been at our school for double digit years. I prefer not to identfy my school before anyone asks.I will tell you that we are NOT under investigation.

igliigli

June 16, 2009 - 8:58 am EDT

I am one of those "get rid of athletics people". While "coaches that have integrity are in fact modeling that behavior for student/athlete" is a great sentiment, that is NOT the behavior of many, if not most, athletes.

DaveW

June 16, 2009 - 9:15 am EDT

It is from my children who are also athletes(one high school and one college). As a parent I find it very offensive that something my children(and many others benefit from)and love is advocated to be removed from their school's program. No matter what the activity(in this case athletics)if even ONE student benefits it is a good thing. GCS is not perfect in many ways athletics included but again if students benefit positively from a program then it should stay.Igliigli why don't you run for school board on a get rid of athletics and other fluff extracurricular activites platform.

bigwill

June 16, 2009 - 9:59 am EDT

igliigli, can you please provide factual evidence to support your statement? Don't lump a group of people together unless you can prove your statement. I find it very hard to say that 2 or 3 people that abuse the system can be used to label everyone else that are coaches or athletes. That would be an ignorant judgement.

dcolin

June 16, 2009 - 10:00 am EDT

"Kowalewski, who spent at least $5,200 from the account for personal services since December, has said he was repaying himself for expenses he had incurred on behalf of the basketball team"

This is a RED HERRING.

I don't like him but he is not a petty thief.Money is not the issue/drive in his coaching.
Ego.

The real blame lies with school and Central Office Administration.

GCS central offices has a building full of PHD's they are not stupid. They have condoned it ( looked the other way)
They have as much culpability as "Stan" and the schools

.

Illiterati

June 16, 2009 - 10:34 am EDT

I agree that GCS is equally as culpable, but I don't agree that StanK's money issues are a red herring. I believe that his laundering personal income through a nonprofit, tax-exempt account is a second and equally, if not more important issue that emerged as a result of the initial investigation. Once the recruiting issue is wrapped up, the DA and/or IRS should take up the misappropriation issue. He has claimed in earlier interviews to have put $80k of his own money into that account. Did he pay income tax on that $80k, or did he write it off as a charitable donation and then proceed to pay his personal bills? I'd like to know.

If you or I had done what StanK did with that nonprofit, tax-exempt account and got caught, you can bet we'd be in more hot water than he appears to be in. Can you pay yourself money you think you're owed from your employer's checking account—and without mentioning it to anyone or even asking first? Doubt it. This is the more interesting twist to the tale than recruiting. What else lurks within StanK's financial dealings?

dp643

June 16, 2009 - 10:53 am EDT

Having a PhD is no sign of a "high level" of intelligence, but it certainly is a designation of someone who has studied and met the requirements of a school that is in a position to "bestow" the confirmation of an advanced degree in a specific course of study. That is no guarantee that a particular individual has enough common sense to deal with people or even to come in out of the rain!
In the case of the GCS, it certainly gives credence to the adage that "those who can't teach, go into administration".
I once had a friend who was very successful and was not a college graduate. It made him pretty cynical about the education system, but he was a great judge of people who could size someone up pretty quickly. He had a great description of the degree system of our higher education and it's degree designations as follows:
BS b--- s---
MS more of the same
PhD piled higher and deeper

Keep HS athletics in Guilford county, just apply the rules fairly and let the kids play no matter what the adults do to "screw it up". The problem with GC is that they went from no enforcement to enforcement in certain cases, and now they do not have a clue what to do in the future. My advice to them is not to rush into implementing a flawed rule just to be perceived as "taking action". This county's history is one of bad management at all levels and ruining people's reputations based on flawed information and a "rush to judgement" whether it's the county commissioners, the city council, the board of education, or the administration of the GCS.
I applaud Mr. Green for 'trying to do the right thing", but I also criticize him for not doing his due diligence and letting this investigation get out of control. Before you ask me if I could have handled it any better, I will tell you "Absolutely!".
In closing, I have no love for the N&R; but I do think Robert Bell and his staff have done an excellent job of reporting accurately and fairly. I also hope they will continue to do so as this winds down and that GCS gives them all the information available to give the communities involved closure before we get back to our real objective---"Educating young people----that's the true legacy of the board of education and the Guilford county schools".
Have a great day!!!!!
DP643

dcolin

June 16, 2009 - 11:50 am EDT

I pretty much agree with you.

("I once had a friend who was very successful and was not a college graduate. It made him pretty cynical about the education system," Define successful.)

however I hope your friend was/is not a medical Dr. core teacher,civil engineer etc.
You get my drift. There are many things that it is almost impossible to learn without college study

Now there are many creative things that "college cannot teach but can encourage".
That is equally as important.

I agree with you about the administration.
These are often people that did not like to teach ( my opinion ) and were not very good ( my opinion) at it. GCS have ( some ) administration that have never taught.
At very high levels. They make policy based on no experience Which can be ok if you have experienced/qualified people to trust..

My point about the PHD's was simply to say they can't play dumb.

Laura

June 16, 2009 - 2:12 pm EDT

I too, am one of those "get extra-curricular athletics out of high school." Gym class athletics is worthy of retaining. But extra-curricular sports is mainly about entertainment -- it's not so much about education. I think team sports have merit -- they just don'tt belong in schools. They are too expensive, especially at a time when schools are thinking about laying off teachers.

The last school board meeting I attended the board was contemplating social worker layoffs, and, at the same meeting, without a murmur, approved more than $300,000 to sod the athletic fields. Why? Because parents would have raised holy h--- if they hadn't. I hate my tax dollars paying the millions that athletics costs, especially when teachers have to dip into their own pockets for supplies.

DaveW

June 16, 2009 - 2:47 pm EDT

So do coaches and we also do fundraisers to help our kids.
I bet Laura you do not have any kids middle school or high school age.When you eventually have some I hope they want to play sports. Then you will change your tune. Don't advocate taking something away that my children benefit from and enjoy.

bigwill

June 16, 2009 - 4:40 pm EDT

Laura, could you please show me where you paid millions of dollars of your taxes directly to athletic costs? Don't bother trying to research that, because I can already inform you that you barely pay 1% if any of your taxes to athletic costs. I would be surprised to see if you have even paid a million in taxes period. Of all the people in Guilford County that pay taxes and the amounts of income the athletic programs bring in to help fund these sod improvements, I would be surprised if any of your taxes were even a part of this funding. I guess we will switch to Xbox360 and PS3 sports so we can increase the obesity rate in schools. Then you can complain about paying more for healthcare issues.

DaveW

June 16, 2009 - 4:59 pm EDT

I agree 100%

TOTHE POINT

June 16, 2009 - 3:44 pm EDT

I have been reading the above comments and taking the information in and amusing myself on the updates. I do look forward to what the culmination of the investigation will bring. DaveW must be one heck of a coach and I would love to have him on my staff but he would have to move to the midwest. However, I have found that the comments about administrators and PhD's is stupid. From experience, I have found those types of comments from Dp643 and Dcolin tend to be made be people who are either jealous of the accomplishments of those of us who have PhD or just could not cut the mustard of going through the rigors of obtaining one. So they try to degrade those who were able to past the rigors of obtaining such a terminal labeling. I know the type we have them in my part of the country as well. With regards to the comments by Laura, I would say there are those of us who can walk, and chew gum at the same time and it is obvious to me that you fall in with Dp643 and Dcolin as having a jealousy problem. I will bet that walking up and down stairs for you may be an issue because you are out of shape and want to do away with those of us who are.

dp643

June 16, 2009 - 5:03 pm EDT

To: To the point
You sound like the NGHS coach who thinks everyone is jealous of him. I hope your PhD is not in psychology or some other intuitive or behavioral science, because you missed it here. Now if you are a psychologist, then you must understand "paranoia".
DP643
PS. You may want to take some time away from rereading your dissertation to edit your mistakes in your post. You are obviously not a PhD in any engineering curriculum!

TOTHE POINT

June 16, 2009 - 5:56 pm EDT

No DP643, I have one of those heavy duty research PhD where I do not need to proof read as i normally have a GA do that for me. All I need to do is interpret the data. Thank you for correcting the mistake. But, are you related to coach K in any way because you seem to have a bit of an inferiority complex towards folks with degrees and administrators? (just joking)

dp643

June 16, 2009 - 6:18 pm EDT

To:To the point
No relation to him. I am a baseball guy. Basketball never really appealed to me, but I do love to watch the game---especially when the Big 12 schools play locally ( within 100 miles). If you have any other questions, just let me know.
DTB

dcolin

June 16, 2009 - 6:40 pm EDT

What research degree

DaveW

June 16, 2009 - 5:03 pm EDT

Thanks for the kind words. You're right about the fact that I could not make a move(at least for 3 years). Where in the midwest are you?

TOTHE POINT

June 16, 2009 - 5:34 pm EDT

IOWA

dcolin

June 16, 2009 - 6:05 pm EDT

To The Point

"however I hope your friend was/is not a medical Dr. core teacher,civil engineer etc.
You get my drift. There are many things that it is almost impossible to learn without college study

Now there are many creative things that "college cannot teach but can encourage".
That is equally as important."

What makes you think I have a problem with PHD's
Read what I said.
Quite the opposite.

I do think the field of study has some relevance,

For instance you cannot get a masters and PHD in say chemistry, math, English, history,
physics, biology etc. without a fundamental bachelors degree in the area.

Education has no problem with that,

They have principals with masters and PHD's that would not qualify to teach any core subjects.
That makes no sense.

In fact in a first class university a math instructor would ( and rightfully so ) have PHD in math.

TennisParent

June 23, 2009 - 12:16 pm EDT

Someone needs to investigate RJ Reynolds HS in Winston-Salem. They have students whose parents live in other counties attending this high school and playing on its tennis team. It is a joke that these students from other counties can attend a tennis academy located at a public park in Winston-Salem and have the school system claim they are eligble to participate in high school athletics. Most of the tennis parents and players across the state now about this, and the Forsyth County school system is turning a blind eye towards this and even condoning it. What happened to making a school sports team only out of the kids who happened to live in that school district?

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