Controversy Over Central Regional's Girls Varsity Basketball Coach Erupts Again

by Patricia A. Miller

They either love him or they hate him.

But almost none of the parents who spoke during the public session at the Sept. 19 Central Regional Board of Education meeting were neutral when it came to girls varsity basketball coach John Truhan. Some praised him, others said he had intimidated and bullied their daughters.

And the controversy has torn the basketball team apart, several parents said.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” said Regina DeJesus, whose daughter has played for Truhan for four years. “It’s heartbreaking. I never heard any negative things. It’s just hurt the team. The team is now divided. It’s not right. I love Truhan. I don’t know what’s happened.”

But for Robin Edler’s daughter, things were different.

“My daughter went through hell with him last year,” she told the board. “He didn’t treat my daughter right. It’s how he spoke to her. It’s very sad. It’s horrible the way he treated her.”

The district has already investigated the matter after some parents filed an HIB (Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying) report, Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides said today.

The district’s HIB specialist and assistant principal investigated any reports from all students involved and the coach, he said.

The results have to meet certain criteria and show some type of effect, like absenteeism or grade drops. The report is then reviewed by the investigators and school principal, Parlapanides said

“The principal then gives me the results and I recommend to the full board, which can then overturn my ruling or go along with my ruling,” he said. “ The HIB was unfounded by the committee and upheld by the board.”

The parents of the students involved requested a hearing on the report, which will be held in closed session on Sept. 22, Parlapanides said.

The district’s bullying policy contains a section dealing with staff members accused of bullying.

State law “requires appropriate consequences and remedial actions for any staff member who commits an act of harassment, intimidation or bullying of a pupil,” the policy states. “The consequences may include, but not be limited to, verbal or written reprimand, increment withholding, legal action, disciplinary action and/or terminiation. Remedial measures may include, but not be limited to, nor out-of-school counseling, professional development programs, and work modifications.”

Tara Cunningham said her daughter is still “having issues,” after being coached by Truhan.

“You will see what she has to say,” Cunnningham told the board. ”It’s not okay for any child to have to go through what these girls have gone through.”

Deb Matthews said each child may have had a different experience with the coach.

“It’s an individual experience for each person,” she said. “We need to get to an end game. It needs to be over.”