By Howard Packowitz
NORMAL – Parents say they’ve been kept in the dark about last month’s sudden resignation of Normal West High School football coach Darren Hess, and they’re demanding the Unit 5 School Board restore stability to the program.
Parents, players, and fans attended Wednesday night’s school board meeting at Chiddix Junior High to show support for Hess and his assistants.
They believe the district forced Hess to quit after 15 seasons because some of Hess’ assistant coaches received stipends from money raised by Normal West’s Gridiron Club.
The club’s treasurer, Jeff Lord, said payments are made through the district’s payroll system.
“Everything has been above board. No payments are under the table. No payments are outside the school system,” Lord told the board.
He received a standing ovation for his comments.
Unit 5 Superintendent Mark Daniel told reporters internal audits performed for unrelated purposes raised questions, and he said the Illinois High School Association is investigating the matter.
“There were questions in regards to the football program, and the leader of that program is Coach Hess,” said Daniel.
Conservative blogger Diane Benjamin urged the board to release minutes of its closed-door meetings.
“These people deserve answers. They lost their beloved coach, and it’s up to you to fix it,” said Benjamin.
Parents demanded the board hire a current assistant coach to replace Hess, who led the Wildcats to a dozen playoff appearances.
“I no longer want to read about this program in social media and in news sites being portrayed in a negative light. (It’s) disgraceful and embarrassing,” said Jimmy Camp, whose son plays on the team.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
