Green Bay Area Public School District building. (IMAGE: Courtesy of Fox 11 WLUK)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The superintendent of the Green Bay Area Public School District is providing her first statement on Green Bay East High School’s football coach being put on paid administrative leave last week.
Vicki Bayer sent the following letter to East families, students, and staff on Thursday:
Dear East Families, Students and Staff:
As you are aware, Manager of Student Engagement, Attendance and Advocacy and Football Coach Niko Sila, is on paid administrative leave. As this is a personnel matter, we cannot provide any additional information. I fully respect and understand that members of our community wish to express their perspectives after learning of the leave. The Green Bay Area Public School District is committed to ensuring that all employees are treated fairly and that investigations are conducted thoroughly and without bias. We care deeply about the voices in our community and are grateful for the understanding that we cannot engage in conversations regarding this topic in order to honor the confidentiality and integrity of the process.
We are aware that some students are feeling strong emotions about his absence. On Monday a school wide announcement was made that encouraged students to speak with school social workers, counselors or administrators about how they were feeling. In addition, Principal Lipp wanted to make sure students understood that Code of Conduct rules still applied, if the students decided to engage in a protest during the school day. The intent of the announcement was not to deter students from protesting. Students who did engage in the protest on Monday, did so peacefully and did not disrupt the learning of others.
We are proud of our students, and want to ensure that through this process all students feel supported and remain engaged in their learning.
Vicki Bayer
Superintendent
Niko Sila was put on leave on Thursday October 16th, the night before the 120th game between Green Bay East and West.
Malik Lynch, a representative for Sila who was in the meeting when he was put on leave, has said the district received a list of about 20 allegations against the coach.
Some of the allegations, according to Lynch, include Sila telling students they don’t have to respect teachers, saying administrators don’t know how to work with kids, that he’s made students buy him food and that he’s made players do push-ups for cursing.
Chelci Sila has said her husband denies some of the allegations and says the rest are being taken out of context.
State law prohibits the district from confirming whether those are the allegations it is investigating.
Supporters of Sila have organized a community meeting for Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Joannes Park.
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