NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Despite a June 30th deadline to apply for the position of Boys Varsity Soccer Head Coach at New Rochelle High School, Steve Young, Athletic Director for the City School District of New Rochelle, violated District policy to hire Jarohan Garcia to replace longtime coach Greg Papadopoulos.
Young, according to Former School Board Member Martin Sanchez, stated that no other candidates had been considered.
“I told him that this was not kosher as per existing human resources norms,” said Sanchez.
Garcia is an English teacher at New Rochelle High School with no prior coaching experience.
Sanchez tells Talk of the Sound he had called the high school yesterday to inquire about the status of the search for a new coach. Sanchez was dismayed when told that a coach had already been hired and incredulous that the new coach had no no experience coaching soccer.
“Young told me that Mr. Garcia had been hired ‘because he knows the kids'”, said Sanchez.
Sanchez contacted school officials at City Hall.
In an email exchange District Human Resources Director Joe Williams assured Sanchez that steps were being taken to undo the “hire” of Garcia.
“This hire’ actually occurred outside of processes associated with HR. However, I will speak to Mr. Young about proper hiring procedures,” said Williams.
Interim Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Korostoff told Sanchez that he had discussed the selection process with Young and advised him that “before any candidate is recommended for appointment, there must be a committee involved and interviews conducted.
It has been common practice for the District to such conduct phony job searches where a pre-determined “insider” candidate has already been “hired”. This is just a part of a broader pattern of abuse of District policy, New York State Law and Civil Service requirements which is the linchpin of corruption and mismanagement in the District enabled by the “friends and family” network in New Rochelle.
Greg Papadopoulos was fired after a series of incidents that resulted in the arrest of one player for an assault during a game against White Plains and forfeiting three games due an ineligible player on the roster.
