Jul 26, 2015 3 min read

Central Greene School District is embroiled in an athletic controversy after the dismissal of Kevin Pincavitch as the varsity high school baseball coach.

Pincavitch’s dismissal under unknown circumstances and the subsequent outrage from parents of players at last Tuesday night’s board meeting is nothing new.

In fact, it seems to be all too prevalent in high school sports.

His supporters spoke passionately about Pincavitch’s record as baseball coach. He took the team to the WPIAL playoffs this year after a lengthy drought.

“I don’t think changing coaches like you change your shoes every few years is good for the boys, good for the team or good for anybody,” Waynesburg resident Dan Davis said while defending Pincavitch.

Superintendent Brian Uplinger previously said there were several factors that were considered in opening the coaching position, but he declined to comment publicly about the situation when confronted at the board meeting.

“If I could, I would,” Uplinger said.

We may never know exactly what happened to cause Pincavitch’s dismissal since school boards are granted the privilege to hold executive sessions to discuss personnel matters away from the public and then make decisions based on those meetings.

Any school district official can openly discuss what happens in those meetings, but there could be unintended consequences to releasing that private information, which could bring a lawsuit from either side.

Pincavitch said last month he was miffed by the decision.

“I don’t know where the distrust would come from,” he said at the June board meeting. “The biggest problem at Waynesburg is I don’t play favorites as a coach. There is no pecking order where a senior plays over a freshman, and that upset some people.”

Uplinger hinted there were other factors besides playing time for kids.

“There’s more to it than Kevin thinks,” the superintendent said of the dismissal.

What we do know, however, is that the position was opened to new candidates to apply, and school district officials did not close the door on Pincavitch returning.

Uplinger said last week that Pincavitch, along with at least two other candidates, submitted their résumés for the position before Friday’s deadline to apply.

It could be considered a testament to Pincavitch’s passion for this particular job and the students he coached that he would want to return to the same school district where he was unceremoniously removed.

While we are not advocating for or against his rehiring to the position, it is our hope that the school district gives Pincavitch a fair opportunity to plead his case for reinstatement and explains its decision to him.

Whether he’s rehired or not, we hope the school district officials in charge of the interview process put aside petty grievances – if they exist at all – to hire the best person for the job.