Public statement calls for McKeesport head football coach to resign; board votes on personnel amid dispute over resignation process

A board member read a statement at the June 24 McKeesport Area School District special meeting that called for the resignation of the high school’s head football coach after two individuals connected to the program testified as character witnesses for a man convicted of murdering a woman and her unborn child.

The statement, attributed to Brandon Short and read aloud by a board member, said the two witnesses “chose on their own to bring up their roles with the football program while building their credibility on the stand” and added that the head coach’s silence had allowed the perception that the program “stood with my daughter's killer instead of with her.” The statement concluded: “I'm calling for the resignation of McKeesport's head football coach.”

The remarks drew immediate discussion and played into business already on the agenda: after a motion to vote on agenda items 5.2 through 5.8 was moved and seconded, the board proceeded with roll-call votes on personnel recommendations. Board member Ms. Payne voted yes; Mr. Donato registered no; Mrs. Elias, Mr. Mark Holtzman and Mr. Matthew Holtzman voted yes; Mr. Keller said he voted yes on all green-sheet items but opposed accepting the coach’s resignation as advised by legal counsel; Mr. Kovac voted yes; Mr. Pavlisic said he needed to abstain on at least one item; and Mr. Torobian said he would vote yes on the green sheets but no on accepting the varsity coach’s resignation.

The meeting record reflects disagreement among members over whether a resignation had been tendered properly. One board member said the legal department had advised that a resignation given to the athletic director outside an open meeting is not effective until presented and accepted in public, while others argued a verbal resignation had already occurred and had been accepted. A speaker defending prior votes said the decisions in earlier meetings had been about coaching performance rather than religious affiliation, saying, “It has nothing to do with religion.”

Board action included a motion to approve the listed green-sheet agenda items; the chair announced that motion carried. The transcript shows a roll-call sequence on personnel recommendations with mixed votes and at least one abstention, but the record includes conflicting statements about whether the varsity coach’s resignation was formally received and accepted by the board during the meeting.

The meeting concluded with a motion for adjournment amid heated exchanges; the transcript ends without a clear, unambiguous public acceptance of the resignation that all members agreed was procedurally uncontested. Next steps were not specified in the transcript.