Tuscola head football coach and principal suspended

Dec. 21—Tuscola High School's principal and head football coach were both suspended on Friday, Dec. 16.

Chris Brookshire, head football coach at Tuscola, has been suspended without pay. Brookshire led the team to its most successful season in years and defeated Pisgah in the county clash for the first time in 10 years.

Principal Heather Blackmon has been suspended with pay. Both have been with the school since 2020.

Haywood County Schools Superintendent Dr. Trevor Putnam confirmed the suspensions occurred on Friday, Dec. 16, but did not provide the reasons for the suspensions. Grounds for suspension, internal investigations or allegations against school employees are confidential under employment law.

Brookshire's suspension without pay qualifies as a disciplinary action. Brookshire has 15 days to appeal his suspension, which would be heard by the Haywood County Board of Education.

If no appeal is made within 15 days, the matter would still move to the school board, which would have to act on Putnam's recommendation, be it dismissal or demotion. The school board would then confirm, modify or reject the recommendation.

Blackmon may have to wait longer to see the end of her situation. Suspension with pay occurs when the superintendent — Putnam, in this case — believes that additional investigation or fact-finding is necessary before a decision can be made. The suspension cannot exceed 90 days.

Brookshire and Blackmon both declined to comment at this time.

Something's up

Rumors have been circulating in the community for over two weeks over what was going on with Brookshire, whose absence from school and games began to raise questions among parents and fellow coaches. Brookshire, an assistant coach for the Tuscola girl's basketball team, stopped appearing at games. The last game he was seen at was Friday, Dec. 2, where he sat in the stands rather than on the bench with the other coaches.

Brookshire was also absent from the school board meeting Monday, Dec. 12, where fall athletic teams were honored for their accomplishments. Assistant coach Austin Sluder presented the awards instead but did not mention Brookshire's absence. Brookshire also hadn't been returning calls to parents or students.

The absence of official information — either from Brookshire or the school system — led to rumors and speculation, ranging from a resignation to an outright firing.

Based on the timeline, it's likely that Brookshire had first been suspended with pay, and later suspended without pay, which would explain his absence from school activities.

The community responds

Brookshire's suspension has caused confusion among Tuscola community members and fellow coaches, who say it runs counter to the coach they know and love.

"I am not sure what is going on, but I know Chris will always be very special to me and is special to all the kids he has coached over the past 20 years," said Houston McCracken, assistant football coach and wrestling coach at Tuscola. "He is a great leader for all student-athletes."

Many Tuscola athletic parents are angry about Brookshire's suspension.

"He was done very wrong. How he has been treated is a shame," said Katie Arrington, president of the Big T Club, Tuscola's primary booster club. "From a Big T Club standpoint, he was our biggest supporter. It wasn't just his football players. He was there for the school."

Arrington also believes Blackmon is a casualty of her allegiance to Brookshire and that Blackmon had stuck up for him.

"It just went from there. Nobody knew anything," she said.

Karin McLelland, a member of the Big T Club whose son plays football at Tuscola, was also dismayed that Brookshire was suspended.

"Those boys love him. I've had nothing but amazing interactions with him. I have watched him be available any time that they need him," she said, adding he even reaches out to band kids. "He's there for all of the kids. He wants to see them be successful."

McLelland said she watched Brookshire make sure kids had rides home, could get to practices and even helped one player who was faced with legal issues over the summer.

"Chris stood up for him, and he acted as a point person and made sure he stayed in school, and now he is still part of the team," she said.

McLelland commended Blackmon for bringing Tuscola through the COVID pandemic.

"She came in at a really challenging time, and she's persevered through that. Tuscola was in a little bit of chaos, from what I understand, with teacher and staff turnover. She has been stabilizing things," McLelland said.

Next steps

Suspensions or dismissals for public employees like Brookshire and Blackmon must follow a specific process outlined by N.C. General Statutes. School boards and school officials like Putnam must follow the procedures to the letter of the law, including what information they can legally make public.

Once an allegation is brought forth against an employee — from a boss, coworker or member of the community — the superintendent can suspend the employee with pay for up to 90 days pending a fact-finding investigation.

If evidence is brought forth that substantiates the claim, the superintendent can elevate it to a disciplinary suspension without pay. A suspension without pay is accompanied by a recommendation from the superintendent to the school board for dismissal or demotion. While the superintendent has authority to suspend an employee, only the school board can confirm a dismissal.

Meanwhile, the suspended employee has 15 days to appeal the suspension, which would then go to a hearing before the school board. The employee can present evidence that contradicts the original rationale for the suspension.

After the hearing, the school board can approve, modify or reject the superintendent's recommendation for dismissal or demotion. The school board's decision is final.

If the hearing results in a dismissal, the school board must — under public records laws — release a written copy of the final decision that describes the specific acts or omissions that were the basis for the dismissal.

About Chris Brookshire

Brookshire was named the team's 12th head coach in 2020. After a 2-5 record in 2020 and 6-5 in 2021, Brookshire led Tuscola to a 10-2 record this year that culminated in a home playoff victory.

Before Tuscola, he worked in various roles at Smoky Mountain High School, Erwin High School, John Battle High School in Bristol, Virginia, Mars Hill University and Western Carolina University.

A 1988 Tuscola graduate, Brookshire earned a football scholarship to Wingate before transferring to Western Carolina, where he earned a track and field scholarship and graduated in 1993.

About Heather Blackmon

Blackmon was named Tuscola principal in 2020. She is the granddaughter of legendary Tuscola coach C.E. Weatherby, whom the football stadium is named after, although she did not grow up in Haywood County.

Before Tuscola, Blackmon was a program director for the nonprofit Communities In Schools of North Carolina in Raleigh. Before joining the nonprofit, Blackmon had a career in education, working for Guilford, Alamance and Orange County Schools.