Parent Post

To clear the confusion of whether or not the Deer Creek School District has to keep track of professional development hours the State Accreditation Standard 210:20-19-3 section (b) states: The local professional development committee shall develop and recommend to the local board of education a professional development point system to account for all professional development activities.

Section (d)states: The district shall maintain in the personnel file of each certified and licensed teacher and administrator those records deemed necessary to fully document their participation in the professional development program.

Section (e) states: School Districts shall annually inform certified and licensed teachers and administrators IN WRITING of their point status on a date recommended by the local professional development committee. 

Yes, any school district has to provide and document professional development hours for the teachers of their district. It is an accreditation standard for your school to be accredited with the state. Also the Master Contract Agreement between DC schools and DC classroom teachers states under Article 9: The District shall maintain a personnel file for each teacher in the central administration office. The file shall contain the following: (g) staff development points.

Our Reply

See the Oklahoman Sunday December 8, 2007 Article about the Tim Draper issue.

Parent Post

Again, we have the rantings of a negative person on this post.  I just wanted to throw a few facts out there for you to grab.  This was the first time for Coach Draper to have to get this certificate renewed. 

Tim Draper made a career change late in life to do what he loved. He was told that administration would help him keep track of his hours. 

He had plenty of hours and had a plan in place to do more hours over the summer.  He went to the State Board of Education and spoke to them about what all he had done and what would apply towards the certificate.  He walked out knowing that he had a certificate. The certificate came in the mail shortly thereafter and the Draper family left town to go on a vacation.

It should also be noted that there was a month between the date of the new certification and DC Administration deciding that he "falsified" the records.  Tim Draper was not even contacted until a few days before the board meeting that would determine his fate. 

I agree completely that he should not have used the letter that Tony Jones did not sign.  He only used it as a reference document as to the # of days that were spent "in service" days at the school. 

Also, in the first State Board of Education meeting.  A Board employee looked up the section of the law that states that it is the school districts responsibility to keep those records. Sandy Garrett read aloud from the book during the meeting. 

This is a big mess and I find it a bit suspect that this all happens just a few days before Coach Draper would have had tenure and a few days after the personnel director\'s husband was hired as a coach and PE teacher for DC.

No, we do not want to teach our children to be lazy, or to cheat any system.  However, we do want to teach them to understanding, fair, empathetic, forgiving, and non-judgmental.

Parent Post 1

I still can't believe that this has happened to Coach Draper.  I believe that we have a wonderful school district here with a few infractions that need to be dealt with.  It seems to me that our school board puts too much trust in the administration.  I still do not understand why there was no school board investigation prior to the DC board making their decision.  Their decision was based solely on what administration had to say.

At the first State Board of Education meeting, the board members would not make a decision because they were not able to hear from the DC administration or board. They did not feel that it was fair to make a decision without hearing both sides of the issue and looking at all of the facts.  Why would our DC school board not give the same respect to a member of our teaching staff. 

They tell us that they can not discuss personnel issues with the public.  I understand and respect that, but they could have discussed it with the teacher himself.  They could have seen the evidence and known the situation completely before making their decision.  I would challenge the DC School board to take the time necessary to really evaluate such decisions in the future.  

I also would like to point out that while I find this website to be informative, I also find it to be far too negative.  It is possible to discuss a negative issue with a positive light and try to find solutions rather than just griping about the situation.  Do we really want simple negative ranting to be the example that we as parents set for the students of Deer Creek?

Parent Post 2

We have also had the pleasure of having Coach Draper as both a coach and a teacher.  Not only did our child/student like him; we did as parents.  However, he really let us down by not keeping his credentials current.  Having been a teacher myself; I have found this to be a very disappointing situation.  It is NOT the schools responsibility to keep up with teachers points.  Yes, you can certainly check with the school to be certain they have logged the correct amount.  However, if we expect the administration to keep track of each individual teachers certification requirements; we would be taking away from our own children. 

Those teachers are adults.  This is their job.  They should be responsible enough to take care of their work requirements without a babysitter.  I expect my children to maintain their own grades and classroom requirements -and they are kids!  Why wouldn't an adult in their chosen profession be required the same and more?!  

Finally, if people are going to talk about situations like this on the site and in public; get the facts.  The facts are public knowledge and in the records of the minutes. Superintendent Sandy Garrett openly stated that Deer Creek Administration did nothing wrong.  They followed protocol.  Administrators would have lost their jobs had they "snuck Coach Draper through the system". 

While Coach Draper was caught in his meeting with a letter that Mrs. Jones refused to sign because it was inaccurate; the State School Board was at fault for first considering it to be accepted.  Coach Draper is at fault for submitting false papers.  Had Coach Draper taken care of his own responsibility and maintained his credentials to stay certified; there never would have been an issue.  For him to expect someone (his superiors) to go out on the line and risk their own careers by cheating for him; is completely unacceptable. 

I used to think he was a great role model for my child. After witnessing what he did by lying, trying to cheat, and putting his co-workers in situations where they could lose their jobs by asking someone to lie for him; I can no longer stand by him.  Please remember the truth always comes out.  Deer Creek was NOT reprimanded in ANY way.  Had they done something wrong; it would have been stated in the meeting the last week.  Instead, Sandy Garrett and 2 State Board Members openly acknowledged that Deer Creek acted responsibly by not accepting a fake letter.

Unfortunately, to avoid a lawsuit from Deer Creek (in my opinion) the Board then gave Coach Draper his certification and ended the topic.  Coach Draper certainly deserves to have his job title back.  He did what was expected of him to keep his job.  He does not deserve to come back to Deer Creek and teach our kids!  He has taught them to be lazy (don't do what is expected of you), to lie (by turning in an unsigned document), and to cheat by asking his superiors to lie about his requirements that he had not met. 

Why would anyone want to work with someone like that?  Why would we want a person in such an influential position with our kids?   No one is perfect. However, someone who blatantly seeks things for themself and is willing to allow others to be reprimanded for their mistakes; is NOT the type of influence I want on our children.  Instead, I expect the role models that we hire in Deer Creek to be above things like that.  If a teacher or a coach is going to require specific things like homework, projects, practice, etc. from my child; they too should be performing their own job requirements.

I am embarassed by the people who have acted to stand up for such things.  Might I recommend that you always hear both sides of a story and investigate the story before putting yourself out on the line for anyone.  There is two sides to every story.  And just like what happened in the meeting; Coach Draper had FINALLY met his requirements to become resinstated.  What was so difficult about doing that like every other teacher/coach has to do?  It was as simple as doing your job.  When he did it; he became recertified. 

But, now we have him to thank for more negative media, seperation of parent opinion and staff, and more rumors about himself and those in the Administration role.  We don't need any of that. Just do your job! If I don't do my job; I get fired.  Why should Coach Draper expect anything less?  He is an adult; keep up with his own certification.  If he needs a babysitter; then he doesn't need to teach our kids! Personally, he is a great guy.  If he were a smart guy; he would have never had this situation happen.  He would have done his job....like his co-workers find time to do.  He also would have represented Deer Creek in a way that we can be proud - not by lying and cheating. 

Coach Draper - I am disappointed!  I am saddened by your change in character.  Parent supporters - THINK - what are you teaching your kids?  Lying and cheating is OK?  Not following the rules set by those in charge (teachers, coaches, and principals)?  Making your own set of rules and asking others to cheat for you is acceptable behavior?  I certainly hope you rethink what example you just set for your kids!

Our society does not need any more kids to grow up and become adults who cannot function within the laws, cannot be responsible for themselves, and unable to be successful without cheating.   Before disagreeing with me; read the minutes - read the facts....don't listen to opinions. I actually feel bad for those staff members that Coach Draper and his followers that have been austricized by our community.  They were only doing their jobs.  I wish Coach Draper had done his and none of this would have ever happened!

Our Reply

To Parent Post One we totally agree with you that we do have a great district with a few things that need changing.  It would be nice if people could have differences of opinions without getting negative.   We also agree that the intentions should be to find positive solutions but you would agree that all parties would have to be open to the idea for that to work.  Hopefully we will get to the point that the leadership with-in the school district will promote and value communication enough that there is not a need for our website.

To Parent Post Two we understand the point you are trying to make but isn’t it too soon to start making judgments with out all of the facts.  While we agree that Tim Draper is not without responsibility in the matter, but the school district is also shares in responsibility as well.  You state on more than one occasion that the school should not ‘babysit’ their teachers but you couldn’t be more wrong.  It is the role of the Human Resources Dept. of any organization (public or private) to oversee every aspect of every employee including the fulfilling of training requirements.  It is not babysitting it is doing their job.

We admit that stating the school was reprimanded was taken out of context by the source and another example of two people hearing the same thing but seeing it differently.  After getting a lot of responses it looks like that was an erroneous statement.  As for reading the posted minutes we would caution you as well since reading the posted minutes of the original board meeting of July 23rd, it is clear not everything said at that meeting was recorded in the posted minutes.  Just to be sure we requested and paid for a copy of the tape recording made of that meeting.

Another thing that gets tiring is the statement of ‘what are you teaching your kids’.  Every side of an issue feels that the other side is wrong so it goes to say that they think the other side is teaching their kids the wrong thing and vice-versa.  It is an erroneous statement that is usually used to deflect attention away from the issue at hand.  Speaking of which let’s get back to the issue.  There are only three issues here that the general public should be concerned with:

1. Why wasn’t the general public allowed to address the issue at the July 23rd Meeting? –This is a legal issue that may be addressed shortly.
2. Why didn’t the school board do a full investigation into the issue?- See Parent Post One.
3. Was Tim Draper unlawfully terminated?-Another legal issue that is between Tim and the School District.

Those are the only issues that anybody should be concerned with here.  As to who you support or the character of any individual are emotional topics that always lead to negative responses and hurt feelings.  And once you start going down that road you will lose sight as to what can be done and how you can make a difference.  Hopefully this will put the focus back on the issues at hand and not on the character of the individuals involved.

Parent Post

Congratulations to Coach Tim Draper for getting his teaching certificate reinstated. Proving that Deer Creek should have never taken it away in the first place.  Our students lost a great coach and teacher. Thank you for all that you gave of your time and your heart to our wrestling program and the students whose lives you touched.  You are missed....

Tim Draper was hired as a football coach for Bishop McGuiness.  As of writing this Tim’s certificate is being held up at the state level.  We will keep you posted as details become available.

I still have to ask one question. Why was Coach Tim Draper's certificate revoked?

Based on an allegation by Lenis Derieux (she has
only been the personnel director for the 2006-2007 school year). She gets to be the trial, jury, and judge,

The district does not have the records for Professional Development hours other than sign in sheets which Tim's name is present on each one. Tim still to this date has still not received a document from the district stating the number of Professional Development hours he has.

If the district is only providing 15 Professional Development hours per year for teachers, what is the district doing with our tax dollars?

I have spoken with 4 other districts in the state they provide 25-30 hours per year. The districts require teachers to report to school the three days prior to which school starts. These are called Professional Development Days reporting at approximately 7:45 to 3:30. There are also 2 other Professional Development days one in October and one in January with the same time frame. At any time a teacher could go to the human resource dept. in their district and get copy of their development hours. The districts I spoke with provide 6 professional hrs per day (5 days per year x 6hrs per day= 30 hrs per year).

I believe Paul Simon used this basis to determined the number of Professional hours plus using a college course to certify Tim since he did not have a document stating exactly how many hours he had. Also any coaches clinics that are attended where the topic of discussion can be taught in a class room for the development of a student can be used as Professional Development hours.

Tim's first year as a teacher(2004-2005) he was required to report to the school an additional 3 days prior to the 3 Professional Development days for New Teacher orientation, where curriculum, classroom instruction, school procedure, and computer training where taught. All of the districts I spoke with, allow for Professional Development hours on these days as
well.

It has been brought to everyones attention that Tim has had 3 years to get his Professional hours completed. Tim's alternative certification is a 3 year process, in which at the end a total of 135 hours are needed. Due to lack of documentation by the district, sign in sheets are the only documentation kept by the district and hours are being determined by someone who has only been in personnel for one year. On what basis is she determining hours?

Below is listed all the hours Tim has been present for Professional Development. Since
documentation is limited the dates may not be exact for Professional Development.

This is why I don't understand how Tim's certificate was able to be dismissed and we are not saying all of these hours count. If Lenis had a problem with Tim's certificate why didn't she call him?

Tim tried to get documentation from Toni Jones and Lenis with no avail. Lenis only told him it looks like you have 0. How could that be?

When Tim went to the State for help he never thought he would be able to get certified and was planning on going to the Great Expectation course the following week. Instead Paul Simon determined Tim had enough hours and college credit to complete the certification process and didn't even use any coaching clinic hours.

Now, Tim's certificate is tied up in legal, even with the letter from the Board and we don\'t why.
The state won't return phone calls or let Tim speak with Kay Harley.

A phone call from the district ie: Rebecca Wilkinson, Principal Toni Jones, or the Board of Directors to the Department of Education on Monday to either Kay Harley in legal or to Dr. Paula Ramone, Assistant Superintendent, could rectify this sitiuation. Tim would be certified
if the district would do this.

The Board does not have to accept Tim's resignation on Monday afternoon. I can only hope
enough questions have been raised concerning this situation, to make you ask yourself, Does the process have some problems and can it be corrected without losing a good teacher/coach.

I understand there are several options that the Board could choose to do. I have a personal
interest in this situation and I know Tim has always put the Students and Deer Creek School, which he believes in, first.

I hope you can understand how this has and will continue to affect my family. You, the board members do have the power and authority to decide what happens.

Sincerely,
Dixie Draper

We keep getting e-mails from one individual that swears up and down that the school’s administration was correct in not allowing patrons to address the agenda item of Tim Draper’s firing.  Well maybe after they read  this story they will start e-mailing the Federal Courts explaining why the courts are wrong and patrons are not allowed to address the school board.  Anybody know someone at the ACLU?

http://www.secondthemotion.com/open_meetings.htm

We have been getting inquiries from individuals as to what the situation was with Tim Draper.  We will do our best to explain it.

Tim Draper possesses an Alternative Teaching Certificate.  With this type of certificate an individual has three years to meet the requirements for a standard teaching certificate.  For Tim that time period ended on June 30th of this year.  From here the situation gets muddy.

We think that Tim had felt he met the requirements and the school district felt he didn’t.  There are questions as to whether the state questioned his requirements on their own or only did so after the school district had reported he didn’t.  It is also unclear how much assistance the school district provided him to make sure he met his requirements.  Nobody but the people involved really know for sure.

The best that we can tell is since the school determined he did not met his requirements they are not allowed by state law to contract with him but once he meets his requirements he can reapply and be rehired for the job.  He should be able to meet his requirements by early August if all things go as planned.

We realize that this may be an oversimplification of the process but it is the best that we can determine from the information that is available.  So with all that said this should have been a simple process if everybody was willing to work together to reach a positive solution.  This leads us to the issues we have with the whole situation.

This incident has showcased what is wrong with the school administration and certain members of the school board.  Any good administrator would have overseen this issue and made sure that everything that needed to be handled was handled.  Unfortunately we don’t have an administration or administrator that has the abilities to handle these situations properly.  Secondly certain members of the school board obviously have never managed anybody in their careers or they too would have known how to handle a situation like this without it escalating.

The issue with these school board members isn’t their decision, the issue is how they made their decision and how they trampled on the rights of the patrons during the process.  It brought out into the open their unwillingness to follow the rules and to do whatever they want to.  It certainly wasn’t their first time to do this and it definitely will not be their last if they are allowed to go unchecked.

Hopefully this has helped to clear up this situation.

If you haven’t heard by now Tim Draper resigned under protest.  Given all of the circumstances this was the best decision for he and his family.  To be fair, had Tim Draper taken care of things when he should have, this probably would not have happened.  Even with his mistake he did not deserve to be treated this way.  The consensus was if this had gone to a vote 3 certain board members would have voted to terminate his employment.  Let’s look at what these certain board members had to say.

Jan Larsen:
“I assure you that at this time with the issue regarding Mr. Tim Draper, I as a board member will look at all the information.  I will ask questions and look at the laws that govern schools pertaining to this issue.  When I make a decision in this issue I must by oath of office see that it, the decision, meets the requirements of the laws of the State of Oklahoma that govern schools.  My hope is that this issue can be resolved with the best interest of the children in mind while it meets the mandates of the laws of the State of Oklahoma.”

Since Jan sent this e-mail on Sunday, the day before the meeting, when was she going to look at all of the information?  How can you make a decision that is in the best interest of the children if you don’t talk to the parents of those children?  Remember the Board refused to hear statements from the parents. Lastly, if the state had mandated Tim being fired there would have been no need for the board to vote on the issue.  The truth is the Superintendent mandated Tim’s firing and the decision was supported by Jan and her two buddies.

Shelley Denton:
“Although I have not been given all of the information on this situation with Mr. Draper I have learned that there are two very different stories on how these events have occurred. The board will have to consider what information is presented to them on Monday and then base our decision on that information.

By law, that is how school boards are required to operate.  Whatever the outcome is, we are also required by law to not discuss any confidential information concerning employees of the district. I can promise you we will do our best to be fair about the situation.”

How can the board make a decision on the facts of the case when in advance they had decided not to allow anybody to speak on the issues.  By the way, per the open meeting act, the public has the right to speak. They didn’t invite Tim Draper to give his side of the story either.  I have to say it was comical when Tim asked to speak and Shelly said she wouldn’t allow anybody to discuss any issues about employees.  It was like she didn’t even know it was him.  It must be easier to sleep at night not knowing who the person is that you are railroading.  To all those not there at the end Shelly and Jan came out of the executive session giggling together. One last piece of advice to Shelly. When you screw up somebody’s life, don’t come back into the room smiling and laughing.

Danny Barnes:
“Unfortunately, Tim has taken a private issue of personnel and allowed this to be played out in a public forum. As such, only one side of this course of events, communicated with a very positive spin, is known. By law, neither the administration or school board is allowed to openly discuss issues that apply to the employment of any of our personnel.

Realizing that this is an extremely frustrating and exasperating response to all of your e-mails, I can only reassure that all of the facts will be re-reviewed before a final decision is made.

You elected us, and yes, we work for you and your kids, to make the best determination in difficult situations such as this. Please trust us that the final outcome will be made with much due diligence and consideration of all the options available.”

If you are “re-reviewing” the facts that means you have already reviewed them once.  Why wasn’t the public invited?  By law the board is required to open all of their meetings to the public, when did you review the facts and why wasn't this done in a public forum?  Next, how does one do due diligence in a matter of hours?  If at a board meeting you are hearing the facts one would like to assume for the first time, how can you come to a decision that is best for the students?  Up until that point the only side you heard was from the administration.  No chance that they put a positive spin on it is there?  Also in just a brief time period I came up with many options that would have been beneficial to both sides and none of them required termination or resignation so how hard could you have tried?

These three board members who time and time again have acted in a manner to keep the patrons from voicing their opinions.  If they are so concerned about violating laws why do they continually do it?  Even they can’t think that the patrons are too blind to see what is happening.  Maybe it is just a coincidence but their e-mails were sent on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday before the meeting.  Any chance that they talked about this situation before the meeting?  Certainly not because then they would be breaking the laws that they say they so want to protect.  I just can’t wait until the day comes when they get a taste of their own medicine.

Last night's board meeting that reviewed Coach Tim Draper's employment and accreditation was a disheartening disappointment but no surprise. Certain board members (Shelly Denton, Danny Barnes and Jan Larsen) continued down the paranoid, power hunger path they have been following for the last few years, not admitting their mistakes, shutting out the public, doling out inconsistent justice.

At the board meeting last night, the board refused to allow any individuals to speak on behalf of Tim Draper.  They even refused Tim Draper the opportunity to speak on his own behalf.  School Board President Shelley Denton referred to section E of the board agenda when denying patrons the opportunity to speak.  She said that the school board would not hear any questions or statements in regards to any personnel issues. Here is Section E:

E. Public to be Heard
The floor is open at this time for any resident(s) of the Deer Creek Public School District #006 to address the Board of Education on items appearing on the agenda that pertains to education and/or the operation of the school district. Those residents wishing to address the Board of Education must sign-in and list agenda item before the meeting. Speaker is to give their full name, address, and agenda item. No response will be provided at this time. The resident will receive communication from the Superintendent upon your request. Questions related to employees of the district will not be permitted at this time. Such questions are to be referred to the Superintendent another time.

As you can clearly see there is nothing that says patrons can’t not make any statements in regards to employees of the district.  It only states that “questions related to employees of the district will not be permitted”.  Another fine example of the current school board making up the rules as they see fit. 

School Board President Denton went on to make another erroneous statement when she said, “The issue could not be tabled since the agenda was already approved.”  Many times in the past the school board has voted to table issues until further investigation or clarifications on issues could be determined.  So what makes this situation any different from those in the past?  She also had the audacity to tell a patron that they could not make a motion since they were not a board member.  That is okay except for the fact that the board members were voted in to be the voice of the patrons and it was quite obvious what the patrons were voicing last night.  So why didn’t any of the board members take up for the patrons?  Do they no longer feel the need to be our voice?  I guess once you get on the board you no longer feel the need to be responsible to the people who elected you.

On a side note the patrons of the district were very professional and courteous in talking with the board.  The only unprofessional acts came from School Board Member Jan Larson when she chose to raise her voice in response to a patron.  You would think somebody with such high moral fiber would show the same professionalism and courtesy that was afforded to her by the patrons.  Let’s move on to what we have learned in the matter.

Below are the rumors that are associated with this situation.  We have not been able to confirm the rumors but there appears to be enough circumstantial evidence to possible give credence to the rumors.

The state has approved the continuing education credits received by Tim Draper but the school district has not.

1. The head of the Human Resources Department Husband has been hired as a teacher and coach making Tim Draper expendable.
2. The screw up with Tim Draper’s records occurred in the district’s accounting.

The truth may never be known but it is clear the Tim Draper has made somebody mad since they are willing to fire him but yet not fire a principal who was caught red handed breaking the rules or fire another teacher criminally charged with hitting a special needs student.  Hopefully this will spur the patrons to take action come election time and vote in somebody who feels the need to be accountable to the patrons of the district.

One last thing.  The decision to fire Tim Draper came from the Superintendent.  Do we still feel comfortable having an individual run our district who fires the good teachers but keeps the rule breakers and alleged abusers?  Again nothing will change until we get a board with the courage to do the right thing.

July 23, 2007

Parent Post

We believe this is a futile effort to rid the staff of someone who does not back Coach Diefenderfer 150%.

Coach Draper instead dared to put the students first and participated with families in Deer Creek to rid us of a bad situation with Coach Fox.

Now, he is paying for it by being singled out - another reminder of Deer Creek at its best. If it brings attention and is not for academics only - we must stomp on it!

ISSUE: Administration not recognizing Coach Draper's credit time and efforts to stay certified

BOARD MEETING to Address Issue:
DATE:   Monday July 23, 2007
TIME:     6 P.M.
PLACE: Administration Building

Below is a series of letters forwarded to us from a concerned parent. We have removed parent names. If you are the author of any of these and you would like your name posted, please let us know.

After reading this, one question comes to mind. Is the administration deliberately forcing Coach Draper into loosing his job or are they that incredibly inept?

Parent Post #1: Hey PLEASE take time to read this and go to the meeting. Tim Draper is one of the best coaches that Deer Creek has ever had and he's a great teacher. Please stand with me and fight to keep him. If we ever needed to stand together now's the time Let’s come out in force if every parent will use there voice and show at the School Board Meeting they will have no choice but to listen. THEY WORK FOR US!!!!!!!!!!!
PLEASE FORWARD!

PLEASE TAKE A STAND

Parent Post #2: I would like to bring to your attention the following letter. This is in regard to the future employment of Tim Draper as a teacher and coach.

There has been a problem with Tim's developmental hours that he has taken which is explained in the parent's letter below. This is on the agenda for Monday July 23, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. at the administration building which is east of the old gym.

It is very difficult to get committed teachers and coaches. I would hate to see Deer Creek part with, in my opinion, one of the best we have had. Please call all the school board members and let them know your thoughts on this matter.

Also please plan on attending the school board meeting Monday at 6:00 p.m. to voice your opinion.

Thank You for your time

Parent Post #3: Dear President Denton and board members,

I am writing this email in relation to an item on the agenda for the coming meeting on July 23 rd. The issue is with N, which deals with Tim Draper's continued employment.

Tim has been trying to account for the last three years of professional development hours to remain in good standing with the state, with little help from the administration. School sponsored professional development should be documented by the district and available for review by the employees.

When questioned as to what needs to be done to get the necessary hours, the administration offered little if any direction and was informed that if the hours were not met by July 1 he could be terminated.

Tim took the necessary steps to attain the needed hours and was certified by the state board only to have the certification revoked when the personnel director called the state and questioned their documentation.

Tim has had little help from the administration and has done everything he could to get his credentials in order. He is in the process of taking a three credit hour course that will ensure he has sufficient hours to meet the criteria set by the state.

If for some reason the approved hours are not satisfactory to the board I respectfully submit that the board table any and all discussions in order for Tim to obtain the needed hours and retain his status as physical education teacher and coach at Deer Creek Middle School.

Tim is one of the finest coaches and teachers that I have had the privilege to be associated with. I have helped Tim with the wrestling program for the past two years and look forward to helping in the future.

I have volunteered my time not only in the wrestling room but at duals and tournaments as well.

Tim's relationship with his student athletes is fantastic. He has a unique report with not only the athletes but the parents also. Tim has done a fantastic job with the wrestling program in the last three years.

In the last two he has coached the team to an amazing record, only loosing one dual that I am aware of and has taken first every tournament. Not to mention the many state champions and placers he has coached.

On the board's web site it states that, "Boards of education recognize that the quality of education provided by each school district is a reflection of the desires of the local community. School boards exist to serve the educational needs of children.”

Not renewing Tim's contract would do a grave disservice to the district and our student athletes, not to mention the DESIRES of the community.

Thank you