The high school social studies teacher who coached the girls soccer team until last season has been suspended from his job without pay for three days and banned from coaching “for the foreseeable future” due to what the principal describes as “unprofessional behavior toward student athletes.”
A disciplinary letter to the former coach, Vernon resident Warren Herrington, was released to the Journal Inquirer in response to a routine freedom-of-information request for any disciplinary actions against employees.
The Dec. 6 letter, from school Principal Joseph M. Blake, says Herrington’s unprofessional behavior occurred Nov. 10, but it doesn’t detail what the behavior was. Blake didn’t return calls seeking comment this week.
When reached by telephone last week, Herrington declined to comment.
Blake said in the letter that Herrington was to serve the suspension from Dec. 1 to Dec. 3, the Wednesday through Friday of the week before the disciplinary letter was hand-delivered to him the following Monday.
The principal wrote that a meeting had been held Dec. 1 “to address concerns about your behavior and performance as a Girls Soccer Coach for the Coventry Public Schools,” attended by Blake, Herrington, two union officials, and the school’s assistant principal. The suspension began the day of the meeting, at which, the principal wrote, “you were given a full and fair opportunity to respond.”
