- UPDATE: The BOE held a special meeting Wednesday, August 24, voting in Joe Babcock as the OHS Girls Varsity Basketball Coach for the 2022-23 season.
OSWEGO – Overwhelming public support for former Oswego City School District Girls Varsity Basketball Coach Joe Babcock dominated the OCSD Board of Education meeting last night, Tuesday August 23.
Eleven people stood during public session to speak on behalf of their coach, including Babcock’s daughter, Sophia, and Babcock himself; the room filled with several in support of bringing their beloved coach back on staff.
Emotions were palpable as students, parents, alumni and an area business owner conveyed their dismay at Babcock’s sudden dismissal right before the start of the school year.
Babcock offered the narrative leading up to the decision of a position replacement; reiterating the fact that after all protocols were met, he was still the only viable candidate applying for the May 18 job posting.
The job was then reposted on July 1, with another candidate then applying for the job at that time, during which Babcock received an email notice that he must interview for his prior three-year position as the Girls Varsity Basketball Coach.
Confident with his interview, Babcock then said he found out he was not selected for the position when checking the online athletic agenda instead of a courtesy phone call as he was promised.
“This is not a three-month job; it’s a twelve-month job,” Babcock said. “I’m not here to make excuses, because my players know I hate excuses. I’m here presenting facts. Our program has dealt with severe adversity, but we sit here today as a unified basketball family fighting for a coach who put his heart, his soul, his blood, his sweat and his tears into this program and those kids. This whole thing today isn’t about me, it’s about these kids.”
Visibly distressed, senior Girls Varsity Basketball Captain Allyson Bruns spoke of being coached under Babcock since the fifth grade.
“To say that I’m devastated is an understatement. I’m heartbroken that my fellow players and I have to go through this; that we have to fight so hard to play Varsity Basketball with the coach that we want. It shouldn’t be like this – we shouldn’t be crying and anxious over this decision, and you the board don’t understand the turmoil that will be felt if you don’t overturn this decision,” Bruns said. “Please listen to us – please do the right thing; please don’t break us up. Let us play with the coach that we want and the coach that’s best for this position – that’s all we ask of you guys.”
OCSD alumnus and local business owner Stephen Gioia III voiced his concerns about perceived favoritism within the Oswego community.
“My biggest concern here is that a very dangerous precedent of nepotism is rearing its ugly head, and I do not want to see it continue here in Oswego. I think Joe Babcock has done a great job and he deserves his chance to continue,” Gioia said.
Board President Lisa Glidden voiced her concern over the perceived political ideals interjected into the board’s administrative operations.
“I guess I’m not comfortable with these kinds of external political interventions into the processes that we put into place on this kind of decision making,” Glidden said.
Board Vice-President Tom Ciappa addressed students and residents who spoke, thanking them for voicing their concerns, saying the board needed “to hear it.”
During board agenda approval, a measure was voted down by a margin of five-two to not appoint Brandon Banks as the new OHS Girls Varsity Basketball coach, with applause from the audience.
Other items discussed during the meeting included an overview of a district safety plan, and an overview from the SEIMENS Group as part of a four-part study conducted by the district. The safety plan will be posted for public review before being voted on.
All items on the agenda were unanimously passed. All BOE meetings are held the first and third Tuesday of every month, the next meeting to be held on Tuesday, September 6 at 5 p.m. To view the full board agenda, please click here.
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Too bad the BOE didn’t even follow the rules for public session. Listen to the rules presented when it states that no district employee should be spoken about by name. Every single kid mentioned the name of the coach. Also, since this was the ‘team’ speaking out they should have also been required to nominate one spokesperson to address the board. This is the second time someone has been nominated to replace him and the second time the BOE over ruled the AD’s recommendation. Entire situation seems to be screwed up all around. Why did they need a special meeting today to appoint him instead of reopening the posting? They aren’t doing tryouts right now anyways so there is plenty of time. Good old Oswego politics…have a temper tantrum and fake cry and you get your way.