As of early last week, LaSalle High School (LHS) is without an athletic director, head football coach and head baseball coach, as confirmed Tuesday (April 23) afternoon by LaSalle Parish School Superintendent Jon Garrett.

Longtime teachers and coaches Derek White (athletic director/head football coach) and Michael Duke (head baseball coach), were reportedly removed from their coaching positions by LHS Principal Heath Denison.

“I can confirm there will be a change at La-Salle High School in the head coaching positions of football and baseball, as well as the athletic director,” Garrett said. “Sometimes a change in leadership is necessary to move a program forward and put a program in a position for the highest level of success.”

The sudden change in coaching leadership sparked vocal outrage from many across the parish with those in the Olla, Urania and Tullos area joined with many from the Jena area voicing their support of the two longtime coaches.

White and Duke are graduates of LaSal-le High and have served at LHS for many years as educators and coaches. White has been the head football coach and athletic director for the school for 20 years and Duke has been the head baseball coach for nearly 10 years.

Reports leaked Monday night, April 22, that the two were removed from their positions. By Tuesday, social media was flooded with images and comments about the coaching change and have continued since.

Due to the issue being a personnel matter, the Superintendent, LaSalle Parish School Board members, Principal or any other officials in the system are forbidden by law to discuss the situation publicly.

Garrett did confirm that the two coaches are still educators at the school and the change only affected their coaching responsibilities. He also confirmed that as of last week, White is still the head softball coach.

“The coaches that were relieved of their coaching positions are still employees of the La-Salle Parish School System,” he said. “A thorough search is currently underway for new leadership in these programs and we look forward to an announcement in the weeks to come.”

By Thursday of last week, the LaSalle Parish Schools Facebook page had posted an announcement that LHS is accepting applications for the positions of athletic director, head football coach, assistant football coach and boys’ and girls’ head basketball coaches. It noted the deadline to apply is May 15 with interviews set to occur May 21.

One of the reasons the removal of the men from their coaching positions has become a major controversy is because White and Duke have deep ties to LHS and the communities of which it serves. White’s family and married family is large in the area and Michael Duke is the son of Mike Duke, who served his entire education and coaching career at LHS.

When Mike Duke retired 20 years ago, White was picked to succeed him as athletic director. The senior Duke said he was heartbroken for his son and White, whom he also thinks of as one of his sons.

“I am not a ‘Facebooker’ but when I saw how devastated Michael and Derek were the night of their termination, I wrote a post and put it on Sissy’s (his wife) page,” Mike Duke said late last week after contacting the newspaper office. “First, I wanted to make sure everyone knew that they weren’t terminated due to some negligence or improper conduct, and secondly, it was to let everyone know that the reason they were terminated was not valid.”

In the post (used by permission), Duke pointed out that during White’s 20 years as head football coach, he has a total of 106 wins in football including three eight-win seasons and two seven- win seasons, at least two district championships and six playoff victories.

He continued to note during his son’s 10 years as head baseball coach, he has a total of 141 wins with 54 of them being district wins, two district championships, two quarterfinal playoff appearances, two semi-final appearances and one state championship.

“While the stats of these two coaches are very impressive, they only tell half of the story,” he continued. “They have been good citizens, good leaders, good role models, good fathers and just all around good Christian men. I feel honored to have worked with them and mentored both of them.”

Since the removal of the coaches has gone public, social media has exploded, with the majority of the posts and comments in support of White and Duke. Even some people who have disagreed with their coaching decisions in the past have publicly endorsed them and condemned the manner in which they were removed from their positions.

Many people have turned their attention to first year principal Heath Denison. An online petition has been organized calling for the removal of the principal. As of Monday morning, over 440 have put their name to the document.

There is also a plan underway to have a show of support at the next LaSalle Parish School Board’s meeting, set for May 7, at 5 p.m., at the LaSalle Parish Media Center in Jena.

Although the agenda for that meeting has not been released, it is highly doubtful that the coaches’ removal will be on the agenda, given the strict rules relating to the Board’s discussions about personnel matters.

Organizers calling for a large crowd to attend the meeting said that whether or not they are allowed to speak on the matter will not deter them from being present to show their support for White and Duke.

In years past, school boards had all authority in the hiring, firing and other positions within the school system. However, many years ago, new laws were enacted that took authority away from boards to remove the political influence.

According to the LaSalle Parish School Board’s policy manual, which was constructed in accordance with state law, the Board’s greatest authority lies with the hiring of the Superintendent. It is the Superintendent who then is granted authority to hire all personnel within the system or allow other system officials to perform the tasks. Board members themselves, by law, have no authority to hire, fire or appoint/ remove any positions within the school system.

In regards to employment of personnel, the Board’s official policy states: “Teachers and all other personnel shall be selected for employment by the Superintendent. It shall be the responsibility of the Superintendent to ensure that all persons recommended have proper certification where applicable, and are qualified for the position. Seniority and tenure shall not be used as the primary criteria when making any employment decision.

The Superintendent shall delegate to the school principal all decisions regarding the employment of any teacher or other personnel at the school in which the principal is employed, subject to the approval of the Superintendent.”

Concerning position assignments, the Board’s official policy states: “The LaSalle Parish School Board delegates to the Superintendent or his/her designee the assignment of all teachers, administrators, supervisory personnel, and other employees of the School Board to their respective positions and/or schools. The principal shall have the authority to determine the placement of all teachers or other personnel at the school in which the principal is employed, subject to the approval of the Superintendent. Personnel shall be assigned on the basis of performance, effectiveness, and qualifications applicable to each position.”

Duke said that while some will view his response to the situation as simply a father taking up for his son, he noted it goes much deeper than that.

“This is about LaSalle High School,” he said. “I care deeply about that school and what we’re witnessing is its destruction unless something is done.”