What just happened?

The striking developments in the search for a new athletic director for Sandusky Schools occurred at a lightning speed. Last week, the original announcement noted how Lucas Poggiali and Jamaris Brown were selected to become the district's new athletic director and new head football coach, respectively. Sandusky Schools superintendent, Dan Rambler, addressed the community about hiring concerns during a meeting on Monday, June 3, 2024. Register photo/JOLENA GIOIELLO Poggiali had been the head football coach for the last two seasons, and Brown was the defense coordinator and associate head coach for those same two seasons. Also last week, the district's athletic director for elementary schools posted, on a social networking page, his disappointment in not getting the job. Todd Downing seemed to be suggesting he was more qualified for the job. He attached his resume and cover letter and Poggiali's application documents to his post along with some evaluation sheets used during the search and evaluation process. JaMarcus Hampton, a Sandusky High School grad and former student-athlete, like Poggiali, also applied for the athletic director's post. He, too, was a finalist, but he did not complain about not being selected. The score sheets Downing posted, however, appear to show that some of the evaluators gave Hampton zeros when the choices were from 1-3, with 3 being the best possible score. The evaluations and other problems with the search for a new A.D. prompted Richard Koonce, a city commissioner and district college prep coordinator and others to claim the search process was biased and discriminatory. Marcus Harris, the diversity, equity and inclusion manager for the city and a candidate for Erie County commissioner, also said the search process was discriminatory and unfair. On Monday evening, district superintendent Dan Rambler met with Koonce and Harris and about 200 other residents who were all questioning the fairness of the process. Rambler was questioned for nearly two hours, and, as the meeting drew to a close, former school board member Brigitte Churchwell asked him whether he still intended to ask the board to approve hiring Poggiali and Brown. Rambler replied, "Yes," he did. The process began in early spring and involved dozens of evaluators, reviews and stages before the selections were made, he said. "I've made a recommendation to the board," Rambler said. "I believe the process was appropriately done." But the next morning, at its regularly scheduled meeting in which a vote was on the agenda, the school board learned that Poggiali and Brown had both called Rambler, withdrawing their names from consideration, citing strife and heartache since the announcement. How can the district avoid potentially losing solid employees like Poggiali and Brown through this process? The passion for our schools and dedication for our student-athletes are the forces that drove every one of the candidates to apply for the athletic director and coach's job. We're appreciative of that, the same as are district families. On some level, we're sure all the finalists for the job, in their own ways, were qualified for it. When it comes to sports in schools, especially football, student-athletes and families don't want anything taken for granted. Now the district must restart a search and answer serious questions about how the first search and evaluations were conducted. Was the process compromised? How was it compromised? Did systemic bias contribute to the process being compromised? How can district officials — and everyone — guard against systemic bias? More than one thing can appear to be true at one time. Rambler reviewed the process and believed it was conducted fairly. Many district stakeholders believe it was not. That is, perhaps, the most difficult question to answer and also the most important question to answer.