Allatoona High football, basketball, soccer and baseball coaches fired

By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Parents from Cobb County's Allatoona High School are protesting the firings of more than a dozen teachers, including the head coaches of the school's football, basketball, baseball and soccer teams.

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Bob Andres, bandres@ajc.com At Wednesday's school board meeting, coaches, teachers and parents from Cobb County's Allatoona High School protested the firings of more than a dozen teachers, including the head coaches of the school's football, basketball, baseball and soccer teams.

Allatoona High School Allatoona High football coach Gary Varner (center, with football) is among the 15 teachers fired this week. The school's head basketball, baseball and soccer coaches were also fired.

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WSB-TV reported that parents will be at Cobb school board offices Wednesday morning to protest the moves, which school officials said are tied to systemwide cuts due to a budget deficit.

"This is devastating to our school," PTSA co-president Angie Santy told WSB.

Fifteen teachers were fired this week at Allatoona, the county's newest high school, according to WSB.

"We're just losing so much,' Santy said. "We are losing a passion for a school that's just incomprehensible. I just don't know how we're going to pick it back up."

WXIA-TV sports reporter Sam Crenshaw reposted a tweet from the CHS_Spartans twitter account stating that "Campbell is getting hit hard also," losing its girls track coach, girls basketball assistant coach and volleyball assistant coach. A later twitter post from the Campbell account reported that the girls swim coach had been cut as well. "And it keeps growing," the post went on to say.

School board members approved a plan last month to cut 734 positions as part of a solution to close a $137 million budget deficit. The cuts include 579 teaching and 56 paraprofessional positions, as well as 68 central office and support positions.

"It seems like it's unfair to everyone, and to be honest with you, it is," Cobb schools spokesman Jay Dillon told WSB. "It's just a very difficult situation."