Patterson Buchanan Successfully Defends School District’s Firing of Athletic Director

After a three-day open hearing, a hearing officer has affirmed that an urban school district in Washington had sufficient cause to terminate the employment of a high school athletic director in the wake of revelations of improprieties in his handling of certain matters related to the school’s athletic program. These improprieties were uncovered by the school district's own investigation.

At the hearing, Patterson Buchanan attorneys Pat Buchanan and Amy DeLisa argued that the discharge of the employee was warranted by five separate allegations of misconduct. The hearing officer determined that there was probable cause for the employee's termination with respect to two of these allegations: (1) his failure to advise the school’s principal and the school district that the school's athletic department had been placed on probation for violation of Washington Interscholastic Activities Association rules concerning the eligibility of coaches; and (2) his awarding of grades to student athletes for a class that he never actually taught and for which the grades were not earned.