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Arcadia High cross country coach Jim O'Brien, 60, attends a meeting regarding his recent firing at the Arcadia campus July 31, 2013. He is flanked by his wife Guadalupe and students that showed up in support. (SGVN/Staff photo by Leo Jarzomb)
Gallery: Support For Fired Arcadia High School Cross-Country Coach James O'Brien
ARCADIA - The Arcadia Unified School District's Board of Education on Wednesday took no action after reviewing the school district's decision to fire James O'Brien as head cross country coach of Arcadia High School.
The board called a special meeting for 7:30 a.m. Wednesday to discuss "employee discipline/dismissal/release and appointment" in closed session.
O'Brien and a few other supporters were given 15 minutes to address the board before it went into closed session.
"After reviewing the facts, we have decided to take no action," said board President Cung Nguyen, when the board reconvened in public session at 10:41 a.m.
Superintendent Joel Shawn will release a statement describing what the board's decision means within 24 hours, Nguyen said. That statement had not been posted as of Wednesday afternoon.
"We clearly heard what you said this morning as well as all the members of the public that addressed the board at the July 23 meeting," said Nguyen, referring to the meeting where more than 50 people spoke about the coach and
urged the board to overturn the district's decision to fire O'Brien.O'Brien engaged Nguyen in discussion at the meeting as to what "no action" means, but did not get clarification.
"Does no action mean that you are leaving put what you've already done, in other words, you have Coach Michael Feraco as head coach of the boys' cross country for this upcoming season?" O'Brien asked.
"I'm sorry, I can't speak to items that aren't specifically on the agenda," Nguyen said.
The board members declined to address the media after the meeting.
Coaches are appointed on a yearly basis. O'Brien was told the day after school ended in June he would not be returning for his 18th year as the cross-country team's head coach.
"It makes me feel terrible," said O'Brien. "It makes me feel like they just cut my guts out. I'm so saddened by it. I thought that maybe they would show a little courage, but they showed they don't have the gravitas to do that."
The only reason the district has made publicly as to why O'Brien was let go was it wanted to "move in a different direction."
O'Brien has said the superintendent told him in a private meeting he was let go because he spray painted Xs on broken lockers so students wouldn't use them because students were having items stolen from the lockers, thereby vandalizing school property.
He also has said he believes the school district's administration begrudges him for winning a grievance he filed against the district. The district had reprimanded O'Brien in 2010 for bringing female runners along with the boys' team to a summer training camp program in Mammoth Lakes. O'Brien filed a grievance and won in 2011.
The fired coach said he will look into taking legal action against the district.
"I will fight for these kids every step of the way," O'Brien said. "I'm not laying down and I'm not going away."
O'Brien, 60, remains a physical education teacher at Arcadia High School. He has led the team to two state and two national championships in the past three years.
The feeling among O'Brien's supporters Wednesday was subdued.
Sergio Gonzalez, 19, who graduated from Arcadia High in 2012, said there are plans to start a recall of some of the school board members, but they are waiting to begin the effort until the public statement is released.
"It was expected, but, at the same time, maybe people can be humane and understand there is more to a program than just these personal feelings as to some things that have happened," said Gonzalez. "It's really a shame."
"I'm really devastated," said Bryan Ngo, 17, who is going into his senior year at Arcadia High. "I want my coach back because he's helped get me and my team so far. We're trying to fight as hard as we can to get him back."
O'Brien's supporters noted that the early morning meeting, where one member teleconferenced in from Vancouver, Canada, was posted late Tuesday afternoon.
"We just can't get any information out of these folks," said parent Michael Wenslow. "They keep saying the decision is in the best interest of the student body, but they haven't yet been able to give us any specific example of how any member of the student body benefits."
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