Tuesday's Internet Edition, July 08, 2008.
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Friday, after 5 p.m, Arlene Brister filed a Level I grievance with the Superintendent’s office citing tactics used in the Lexington High School athletic “Boot Camp” held last week. This is the first of a three-step grievance process outlined by the District. Coverage of Mrs. Brister’s complaint along with footage of the Boot Camp has been shown on at least two Austin television stations several times over the past ten days and has been the subject of several radio talk shows around the state.
Because the Boot Camp was not on the agenda of Monday night’s Board meeting, Phillip Brown, President of the School Board, announced early in the meeting that the Boot Camp, which is the subject of the grievance filed by Mrs. Brister, would not be addressed at that Board Meeting.
Since the subject of Boot Camp was not on the agenda, four people chose the ‘Public Comment’ portion of the meeting to speak about this item. Ron Jones, Bruce Reat, and Velma Lewis spoke in support of the current Athletic Program. Debra Martinez, a former teacher at LISD, spoke against the coaching procedures she witnessed while she was employed with the District more than a year ago.
Although the District Athletic Program was scheduled for review, it was only one of five programs within the District on the agenda for Monday night’s meeting. During the Athletic Department’s review, two citizens spoke, Tom Kleinschmidt and Keith Bexley. Mr. Kleinschmidt discussed the results of his study of Lexington’s Athletic Department compared with other schools of similar size. Mr. Bexley read a letter to the Board expressing his concerns about the conduct of the Athletic Department, and what he felt was an over-emphasis on football at the expense of other sports. The contents of Mr. Bexley’s letter appear on Page 4, Section A in this edition of the Leader.
Superintendent Chuck Holt said after the meeting, “Our interest is to resolve conflicts and to try to resolve them at the lowest level possible. Good people can disagree, especially when it concerns their children. We would like to just make sure what is important stays important. Extracurricular activities are a part of the education of our children but should not be the main focus.”
When contacted by the Leader, Arlene Brister said, “I do appreciate the people that have supported me through this. I will continue to take care of the safety of my children in the future. This is not over yet.”
Also during Monday’s meeting, the Board extended Athletic Director Jason Holcomb’s contract for two more years, along with contracts for Principals, Assistant Principals, the Special Programs Director, the Technical Director and the Business Manager.