Gary board approves some, not all coaches

Updated: April 26, 2011 11:53PM

GARY — The Gary school board Tuesday night approved 25 coaching assignments at West Side Leadership Academy and Lew Wallace STEM Academy.

The list, which amounts to an additional $75,000 in compensation to be paid out by the schools, was significant for what it did not include.

It did not include any coaches for Roosevelt Technical and Career Academy coaches or head varsity football or boys basketball coaches for any of the three high schools with teams.

City athletic director Earl Smith said there is more to come as he works through applications and prepares recommendations for the board.

“The board accepts the recommendations as they come,” he said. “We’re trying to have all the coaches in line before the end of the school year.”

Smith declined to answer questions about Renaldo Thomas, the Lew Wallace head basketball coach who led his team to the state final in 2010, but apparently was removed from his post earlier this spring.

The assignments approved Tuesday cover a range of sports at West Side and Lew Wallace, from boys and girls tennis to assistant football coaches and a girls head swimming coach.

Smith said the board filled most coaching jobs for spring sports, such as Ashley Cherry as head tennis coach for boys and girls at Lew Wallace, and a selection of fall sports at the two schools, including freshman football and basketball spots. The list also included Yolanda Bond as West Side’s cheerleading sponsor.

The contracted dollar amounts for each position also covered a relatively wide range. David Mitchell will get an additional $6,585 as the athletic director for Lew Wallace, while Carolyn Sweezer will earn an extra $1,536 as West Side’s assistant volleyball coach.

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