After outcry from parents and members of the boys basketball team, head boys basketball coach Mike Lewis has been reinstated to his coaching job. The school district announced the decision in a press release Friday afternoon.

Here’s that press release:

Lawrence school district and Lawrence High School administrators met with Mike Lewis following the non-extension of his assignment as head boys’ basketball coach to discuss the evaluation process and their mutual interests in building the LHS basketball program. Superintendent Rick Doll said that it was apparent from the review that school administrators did complete the annual evaluation in a timely manner prior to ending Lewis’s coaching assignment.

“The crux of this is that the document the district currently uses to evaluate coaches is not a good tool for feedback. That’s a systems flaw, one that the district needs to correct,” Doll said.

During the discussion, athletic director Bill DeWitt and principal Matt Brungardt made it known that concerns about the management of the boys’ basketball program could be remedied with action short of non-extension. All parties agreed that an extension of Lewis’s coaching assignment is in the best interest of students and the basketball program.

“After conversations with the district and school administration, I better understand the areas I need to improve on as a coach, and I’m definitely willing to work on those areas,” Lewis said. “I’m excited for the opportunity to continue to work with Lawrence High basketball.”

“With this understanding, I told Mike that I will support him 100%,” DeWitt said.

“I’m impressed with Mike’s commitment and thankful that he wants to continue to lead our program,” said Brungardt.

The district has already started a process to improve the system used to evaluate coaching personnel. District
administrators will work with middle and high school athletic directors to ensure that the method of evaluation is sound and consistently applied, that goals and expectations are clearly defined and that progress toward a plan of improvement is appropriately monitored, well-documented and adequately communicated to all coaching personnel.

“I apologize that this caused concern among members of the public. I can understand that people have an interest in
knowing all of the details, but personnel matters are confidential for a reason – to protect the privacy rights of the
individual involved,” Doll said.
“This was a learning experience for all of us. The district will develop a better evaluation tool. Mike has agreed to work on some areas and Matt and Bill have committed to improve communication,” said Doll. “The bottom line is that
everyone involved is dedicated to doing what’s best for students and Lawrence High School’s basketball program.”