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Northern York School Board replaced a high school wrestling coach who was accused and acquitted of slapping a student athlete.

In May, Fred DeLuca was acquitted of a harassment charge filed after wrestler Kyle Whary accused DeLuca of slapping him after a Jan. 12 match in Clinton County.

A day after the acquittal, the school board voted 7-1 to reopen DeLuca’s coaching position.

DeLuca, who has coached wrestling in the district for 23 years, one as head wrestling coach, reapplied but was not offered the job. He remains a social studies teacher in the district.

The job was given to Cody Ebersole, a former Millersville University wrestler who was one of DeLuca’s assistants last season. Ebersole teaches at Northern Middle School.

DeLuca did not attend Thursday’s school board meeting, but people spoke in support of him. One of the most vocal was his mother-in-law, Nancy Taylor, who pointed out that the majority of people who spoke up at May’s school board meeting supported DeLuca.

“There appears to be some impropriety within the school board,” Taylor said. “What criteria do you use when you hire coaches?”

Superintendent Brian Small said it’s not the responsibility of the board to respond to questions during the public-comment period. The board’s solicitor encouraged those with questions to put them in writing.

“You need to re-evaluate what you’re doing,” Taylor said.

“Not one member of the board has contacted my husband to get his side of the story,” Fred DeLuca’s wife, Denise DeLuca, said. “I graduated from this high school, I love this high school and I’m ashamed of this high school.”

Greg Whary, father of Kyle Whary, said “Fred is a good guy, but what liability does the district have?”

Fred DeLuca was not home to comment Friday afternoon, his wife said.

Michael Barndt, chairman of the school board’s athletics and activities committee and the only board member to support DeLuca at the May meeting, was absent Thursday.

HONORED

As the result of a fundraising effort by the Polar Bear Foundation, the school board agreed Thursday night to name the street between the middle and high schools “Coach DeLuca Drive” during the 2008-09 school year.

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