While dismissal proceedings continue between San Benito High
School and former athletic director Marty Dillon, school officials
have decided to keep Dave Tari as interim athletic director until
the end of the school year.
While dismissal proceedings continue between San Benito High School and former athletic director Marty Dillon, school officials have decided to keep Dave Tari as interim athletic director until the end of the school year.
“The court process is usually very slow,” SBHS Principal Karen Schroder said. “We have no idea how far Marty Dillon is going with his appeals.”
Dillon, who coached the SBHS softball team for seven years, was accused of touching a female student-athlete in an inappropriate manner at a non-school-related softball tournament in the fall of 2001. In December, an administrative panel upheld the Board’s right to dismiss the long-time teacher and coach.
Based on discussions with his client, Dillon’s lawyer, Joseph Cisneros, said Dillon – who was accused more than a year ago of improper conduct with a student-athlete – is willing to fight and appeal his case to the end.
Cisneros said he has cases of a similar nature that have been ongoing for two and three years. Dillon was on paid administrative leave from March to June 2002, Cisneros said.
Tari, SBHS’s head athletic trainer for five years, said even though he sought the interim athletic director position for a new challenge, he’s just holding down the fort.
“In one sense, I feel like I’m filling in for someone who’s called in sick,” Tari said. “… I’m not in the A.D. office a lot. It’s still Marty’s office.”
It’s a no-lose situation for Tari, who said he would take the permanent athletic director position if it was offered to him, but he would be fine if Dillon came back because he could still return to teaching at the school.
After the three-person administrative panel upheld the Board’s right to dismiss Dillon, Cisneros said he plans to file a kind of appeal, called a petition for a writ of mandate, in San Benito County Superior Court. The parties were notified of the panel’s decision by mail Dec. 31.
Cisneros has a few months to file the petition. Once filed, it will take anywhere from three to nine months for it to be heard. The losing party may then appeal the judge’s decision to an appellate court in San Jose, which automatically has to hear the case. That process can take one to two years, Cisneros said.
After the appellate court’s ruling, the losing party can appeal the decision to the California State Supreme Court, but that court is not required to hear the case. Cisneros said he has never had a case heard by the state Supreme Court, but estimated that these types of cases are heard 10 percent of the time.
Because of the length of the court process, it is hard for SBHS officials to get a clear view of how to fill the athletic director position. One thing that saves time, Cisneros said, is that the testimony aspect of the case is finished. Any additional rulings will be based on testimony transcripts, he said.
Dillon was placed on paid administrative leave from his teaching and coaching duties in May 2002 when a student came forward with allegations that he approached her from behind and grabbed her breasts at a team gathering after a softball game in Stockton in the fall of 2001.
Cisneros, a Monterey attorney specializing in education law, argues that the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s office opted not to file criminal charges against Dillon, citing a lack of evidence.
The administrative panel reportedly wrote in its opinion that although Dillon’s actions may not have been criminal, they were also not proper.
Cisneros estimated the legal costs of the case to date at around $100,000 for each side.
