Ex-McKinley High School assistant football coach Josh Grimsley back in noncoaching job
CANTON – One of the former McKinley High School football coaches fired for how the coaches disciplined a former player who missed a voluntary workout has his job back.
Josh Grimsley, McKinley’s former defensive line coach, isn’t back coaching but he has regained his job as a school resource assistant for the Canton City School District.
The school board brought back Grimsley in November under a negotiated “Return to Work” agreement. School officials said attorneys advised the district to seek an agreement rather than proceed through the multistep grievance process. Grimsley, who has worked for the district since 2006, filed a grievance on June 29 through the district’s union for classified employees asserting that his June 24 firing was not warranted.
The school board fired Grimsley from his noncoaching position for violating multiple board policies, work rules and state professional standards on May 24 when former head football coach Marcus Wattley and five other assistant coaches used a nontraditional method to discipline a player. The discipline included sitting the player alone in the center of the auxiliary gymnasium and telling him to eat an entire pizza while his teammates encircled the gym doing weighted exercises.
Fallout from the May 24 discipline: Ex-McKinley football player sues, alleges coaches coerced him to eat pizza against beliefs
Grimsley, who declined to be interviewed for this story, has maintained that he didn’t know Wattley had planned to discipline the player, that he didn’t intervene because he didn’t want to escalate the situation or show a rift among the coaching ranks, and he didn’t leave because he wanted to ensure the situation didn’t escalate out of control or become physical. Grimsley reported the incident to his supervisor, expressing his concerns about how the student was treated.
Return to work agreement details
The “Return to Work” agreement, which The Canton Repository obtained this week through a public records request, states that:
Grimsley can return to his job as a school resource assistant, but he would no longer interact with school-aged students. Instead, he would be assigned to the Adult Education department Mondays through Thursdays and at the bus garage on Fridays. A school resource assistant, which is part of the district’s safety and security team, monitors student behavior, addresses disciplinary issues and enforces district code of conduct and other policies.
Grimsley still cannot hold a coaching position in the district this school year. But he can apply for a position next school year as long as the Ohio Department of Education’s Office of Professional Conduct has not limited or revoked his pupil activity permit that is required for all coaches. The district referred its investigation of the May 24 incident to the state education department to determine whether the state should take action against the coaches’ educational and coaching credentials.
The board agreed to pay Grimsley $5,500 as part of a compromised amount for the wages he lost while his grievance was pending and as an acknowledgment that the agreement saves the district and union from the cost of the grievance proceedings. Grimsley’s salary for this school year is $25,313, according to the district’s treasurer.
If Grimsley violates certain board policies relating to ethics and student supervision this school year or next school year, he can be fired at the school board’s discretion.
The agreement ends on June 30, 2023, but its terms will be reviewed before then and the superintendent can choose to release Grimsley from any or all of the agreement’s restrictions.
Canton City Schools Superintendent Jeff Talbert emphasized in a written statement that the agreement keeps student safety as a priority.
"We have always, and will continue to, hold our teachers, staff, and employees to a high standard, one that represents our goal of prioritizing the safety and well-being of our students while providing a learning environment that is productive for all," he said.
Wattley, who had been an academic and athletic liaison for the district, and former assistant coach Frank McLeod, a former safety and security liaison, have since dropped their appeals to regain their noncoaching jobs. Former assistant coach Zachary Sweat did not seek to get back his job as a bus assistant.
Reach Kelli at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com.
On Twitter: @kweirREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ex-McKinley assistant football coach Josh Grimsley back in noncoaching job
