A day after a contentious town hall for the Pike Township Schools search for a co-athletic director, the home mailbox of School Board President Terry Webster was vandalized. It may be the latest flashpoint in a monthslong hiring dispute that has divided some in the school community.
School board members, the district administration and parents are at odds over the hiring of a new administrator to oversee daily athletic department operations at the high school and organize game schedules for the Pike Red Devils. A candidate recommended for the hire already backed out of the job following online backlash. Webster warned that district employees can face consequences if they are found to inflame the situation on social media.
Thursday, the district administration hopes to bring a new recommended candidate for hire at the regular 7 p.m. school board meeting, a district spokesperson said.
The position is focused on overseeing day-to-day athletic department operations at Pike High School — including scheduling, facilities and coach support, and advocating for student-athletes across all sports programs, according to the district's job posting. The job pays $129,089 a year.
Why did the board hold a town hall?
The school board’s July 8 town hall was held to explain how it arrived at its recommended hire for Pike High School's co-athletic director, after months of disagreement between board members over the position.
Former co-athletic director David Paddock resigned in January after 12 years with the district. District administrators initially recommended replacing the two-person co-director structure with a single assistant athletic director. But board members pushed back, saying they wanted more say in reviewing finalists, Webster said at the town hall.
A recommendation for the restructured role was rejected at a March 26 board meeting, and the board directed the district to repost the job under the original co-director model.
The new search led to Ramon Stallings, assistant athletic director and head football coach at George Washington High School in Indianapolis Public Schools. Stallings was recommended for hire but withdrew before starting.
At the town hall, board member Webster read aloud what he described as Stalling's letter of withdrawal. In it, Stallings cited online backlash.
“Unfortunately, over the past 10 days, my family and I have experienced an incredibly difficult situation,” Webster read from the letter. “Numerous comments have been made on social media regarding my hire. Somewhere, someone made them anonymously, while others made them publicly. Individuals identifying themselves as Pike faculty and coaches.”
Webster said that Stallings wrote that the tone of the comments had raised concerns about starting the job "in an environment that is unified and focused on student achievement."
What did people say at the meetings?
Numerous parents and staff attended the July 8 meeting, and some said the hiring process lacked transparency. Parent Gabriel Bosslet told the board it provided little clarity over the decision members made in meetings or in private.
“I feel very bad for the individual whose letter that you read today, but I would like to lay at your feet the fact that this is on you guys for the fact that that person is not taking this position,” he said.
Others argued the board passed over a more experienced candidate for the position.
Pike resident Ryan Taylor raised a similar concern about the board's shifting course.
"I think that if we provide better clarity, that might be helpful in terms of transparency," he said.
Webster said the board would not respond to questions during the meeting and instead would later publish answers from the town hall. As of this reporting, the school board hadn't published written answers to the questions.
What do we know about the vandalism?
According to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report, Webster’s mailbox was damaged sometime on July 9, the same day as a regular board meeting and about a day after the July 8 town hall. Webster did not report the incident to police until July 13, four days later, the report shows. The board released a statement Saturday on the incident.
"While we have not identified the culprit or the motive, we want to reiterate that threats or intimidation against Board members are illegal acts and are not appropriate expressions of political disagreement," Webster and board attorneys wrote in a public letter. “Our Board members have put themselves forward to serve the District in public office, and each Board member is committed to acting in the best interest of the District.”
IMPD told WFYI the case remains an open investigation and encouraged anyone with information to contact the department’s Northwest District at 317-327-6600.
Eric Weddle is WFYI's education editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org or follow him on X at @ericweddle.
