New coach evals 'great step forward'

COEUR d’ALENE — Coaches and other extracurricular leaders will now be evaluated differently in Coeur d’Alene School District, the school board decided Monday night.

The action came in response to public outcry over the district’s decision to not renew the contract of Coeur d’Alene High School basketball coach Kurt Lundblad.

More than 50 people attended the June 6 school board meeting, pushing for change in how contracts are handled for the district’s “at-will” employees.

Rick Rasmussen, whose family has been involved with the Coeur d’Alene School District for generations, spoke at last month’s meeting. Along with a group of parents, a student and other supporters, Rasmussen challenged the board to reconsider its policies.

“They can let those seasonal coaches go any time with or without any reason,” he said. “That’s what really struck me: It’s not fair to anyone. I don’t care what they’re doing, coaching or leading, it’s just not fair. Everyone should get a timely review...and some sort of action plan if you aren’t meeting expectations.”

Monday evening, Dr. Trina Caudle, director of secondary education, presented the board with updated evaluation procedures and clarified expectations for coaches and advisers of extracurricular activities that she and district athletic directors had been working on.

First, Caudle and her team revised the expectations list for not only coaches, but administration, students and parents as well. The new list is clearer and easier to understand, she said.

“If everyone knew what the expectations are up front, we can be more proactive and it’s better for all of us,” Caudle explained to the board.

On top of the list of expectations, the team added a pre- and postseason checklist for coaches to fill out.

The checklists include things like reviewing state rules, taking inventory, reviewing conduct codes and making sure necessary forms have been completed. Once a coach turns in the postseason checklist, an evaluation of that coach or adviser will need to be done within four weeks.

This, Caudle said, addresses the timeliness issue that came up in the previous board meeting.

The final piece of the revised procedures is a new evaluation form for coaches, assistant coaches and extracurricular advisers.

Caudle said she and her team found the evaluation form for assistant coaches much more stringent than the form for head coaches and advisers. The head coach evaluation form consisted of a few boxes where an evaluator could comment on different “performance categories.” The boxes left it up to the evaluator how specific or detailed he/she wanted to be.

The earlier form for assistant coaches and advisers made the evaluator rate them on their performance in various categories, then left a small space for comments at the end.

The new form evaluates coaches, advisers and assistants in the same format. Caudle and her team combined the formats of the two previous forms to make a better one where evaluators rate coaches and assistants on a scale in a number of categories.

If a score of two or lower is given, the evaluator is required to give a reason why and show proof, as well as offer suggestions for improvement. The form also has a section to give positive feedback.

Dave Eubanks, the board’s vice chair, voiced his appreciation and approval for the new plan at Monday night’s board meeting.

“I think this addressed the things that were expressed here recently,” he said. “Great job.”

Rasmussen was pleased to hear his actions, and those of his peers, prompted change.

“I’m glad they’re going to do that. I think it will help attract better extracurricular leaders or coaches,” he said. “I think it’s a win for the administration, too, because the principals and administrators can have a plan to implement, and the kids are going to win because we are going to be able to keep our coaches longer.”

Larry Schwenke, a former activities director at CHS, was one of Rasmussen’s peers last month when they voiced their concerns.

“It just appears that there were surprises. Some coaches were caught unaware perhaps that there was going to be a poor evaluation and I’ve stressed communication,” he said. “This is a great step forward.”

These are procedural rather than policy changes, so the board did not have to vote on them. They are effective immediately.