By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT — Three Board of Education members opened the panel’s Thursday meeting by explaining their votes at a marathon hearing Monday where administrators’ controversial decision not to renew a soccer coach’s contract was upheld.

After that 14-hour session conducted before a large crowd, the board voted 5-1 to back the decision not to re-hire popular Staples High School boys soccer coach Russell Oost-Lievense.

Only board member Robert Harrington voted not to support the decision. A seventh board member, Kevin Christie, recused himself.

On Thursday, board Vice Chair Dorie Hordon used time reserved at the start of meetings for board announcements to explain her vote in a statement she read into the record.

She was followed by board member Jill Dillon, who said she initially hadn’t intended to speak on the topic.

Harrington was the last of the board members to address the issue.

The coach’s suspension last year and eventual contract non-renewal came to light when senior soccer player, Jonny Costello, came to a board meeting in January to describe how his life had been “destroyed” after an incident with an assistant coach during an August team retreat was anonymously reported to Athletic Director VJ Sarullo months later.

Oost-Lievense and two other soccer coaches were suspended over the incident and their contracts not renewed.

Oost-Lievense had appealed the decision by Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice to the board, and asked for a public hearing on his case.

Monday’s hearing, conducted under procedures that Oost-Lievense’s supporters faulted, primarily dealt with what was allowed to be entered into the record and whether the superintendent’s decision was “arbitrary or capricious,” rather than details of the August incident and the coach’s attendance at a post-season team banquet.

The board’s decision did not sit well with the auditorium full of students who sat through the day-long hearing, nor a number of parents who showed up at Thursday’s meeting to speak.

Hordon: Decision not arbitrary or capricious

Hordon said she heard from a number of people angered by her vote to support the administration. She called it a difficult and painful decision.

“The task before members of the Board of Ed was to determine if the decision that was made by the administration was made in an arbitrary and capricious manner,” Hordon said. 

“I voted to uphold the non-renewal because it was clear to me that the decision was not made in an arbitrary or capricious way. There was ample evidence to support the administration’s conclusion not to renew.”

Hordon said that during her four years on the board she has spoken up independently and differed with the majority opinion on several major issues. “I always stand up for what I believe is right,” she said. “My vote was based on the facts.”

Hordon added she understands that many people support the coach and are disappointed by the outcome. But she said she knows others are relieved.

“I work hard to represent the residents of Westport, and especially our students, even when I have to make controversial calls,” she said. “Working with our children is a privilege — not a right … It is ultimately up to the administration to use their best judgment and decide who gets assigned these important jobs.”

Dillon: Appropriate but painful decision

Dillon said that her decision was based on board policies and the evidence presented.

“It was the appropriate decision,” she said, acknowledging it was a painful decision and not made lightly.

“It was a very heavy thing for all of is,” she added.

Harrington: “I will not be silent;” Sarullo must go

Harrington, meanwhile, told the meeting he clearly held a different view.

“I have had a lot to say since the result of the hearing on Monday. I will continue to have a lot to say,” he said. 

“I will not be silent about the failure of our administration to carry out a thorough investigation leading to the non-renewal of [Oost-Livense],” he said. “I will also speak out about the withholding of evidence and refusal by our administration to allow certain witnesses to testify on Monday.”

Harrington criticized what called a failure of leadership in the Staples Athletic Department, arguing that change is needed. “I am calling for Staples Athletics Director VJ Sarullo to immediately step down,” he said. 

Speakers criticize administrators, disciplinary process

Several speakers from the audience also expressed a lack of confidence in the school district’s administration.

Stephen Shackelford said the primary issue isn’t about soccer, but about how teachers and coaches are treated by the administration and school board.

James Lothrop said the board sent a message to the community Monday that their voices didn’t matter. 

“What was the purpose if the outcome was predetermined?” he asked. “It’s awful decision-making.” He asked the board to reconsider.

Joan Gillman said she was extraordinarily disappointed in school board members, and called the decision unfair and based on an improper and unfair investigation. The coach, she added, was stripped of his right to defend himself.

Stephanie Moore, another parent, said she also sat through Monday’s hearing and found it hard to believe the board heard the same testimony she did.

Freelance writer Linda Conner Lambeck, a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications, is a member of the Education Writers Association.