Embattled Skaneateles varsity football head coach Tim Green resigned today only hours after a state court judge upheld last week’s Section III suspension of the team based on findings of illegal recruitment by members of the coaching staff.
Green’s resignation is conditional upon the school board’s agreement to appeal the judge’s decision to state appellate court in Rochester, according to a source close to the board who requested anonymity.
State Supreme Court Justice Brian F. DeJoseph’s decision earlier today to uphold the Section III suspension of the Skaneateles football team ended the Lakers’ undefeated season and took them out of competition for this Saturday’s Section C final game against Herkimer.
Skaneateles School Board President Evan Dreyfuss said tonight at a regularly-scheduled board meeting that no decision has been made yet on whether or not to appeal and the board is deliberating.
“This is not a simple procedure,” Dreyfuss said, stating that the board must consider the cost to appeal, the personnel time, and the effect such a decision would have the student body, the staff and the district as a whole.
The entire school board met in executive session prior to tonight’s board meeting and again immediately after the meeting.
Skaneateles School Superintendent Phil D’Angelo said the board has some time to deliberate because the appellate court docket is completely booked for Wednesday, Nov. 2, and the earliest the district could get a hearing would be Thursday, Nov. 3.
He said the appellate court moves quickly and, if the district appealed, a decision would come before Saturday’s Section C finals game. Skaneateles was to play against Herkimer for the section title. With Skaneateles’ suspension upheld, Utica Notre Dame, the team the Lakers beat in the semifinals last week, now has the opportunity to advance.
About 40 spectators attended the school board meeting tonight, with only a few students and no football team members visible.
Tim Green did not attend, nor did any members of his coaching staff.
D’Angelo said the board could not take any action on Green’s resignation until the next regularly scheduled board meeting on Nov. 15.
Two Skaneateles village police officers also attended the meeting to keep the peace if necessary, due to some previously heated public reactions at past meetings, while a village police car and a county sheriff’s car both patrolled the streets outside the district office and the school buildings complex.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Skaneateles Press. He can be reached at [email protected].
