West Lebanon
Stone, 57, was nominated by Lebanon School District Superintendent Joanne Roberts and accepted by the School Board in a 9-0 vote on Wednesday night during a meeting at Seminary Hill School.
Stone, of Wilder, previously taught physical education and coached football at Hartford High School, from where he graduated in 1977. He won 10 Vermont state football championships while coaching the Hurricanes, departing in 2014 to become defensive backs coach for the football team at Norwich University, his collegiate alma mater.
Stone, who begins on July 1, succeeds Zac Stevenson, who announced his departure the first week of June after 2½ years on the job. Stone will be paid an annual salary of $82,000 to oversee Lebanon’s athletics programs as well as co-curricular activities, including theater and recreational club programs.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” Stone said in a phone interview moments after Lebanon High Principal Ian Smith delivered him the news of his hiring. “For as long as I was coaching at Hartford, I always thought about the opportunity (to become an athletic director). It’s an opportunity to get back to interacting with young people and being part of a Lebanon community that is very passionate about athletics.”
Stone will not be allowed to coach while serving as AD, a clause that Smith believes has been part of the job description at Lebanon since the 1990s.
“That’s OK with me,” Stone said when asked if it will be difficult to refrain from coaching. “I’m at a point now in my life where I’ve done a lot of coaching and I can help programs be successful in other ways.”
A motion had been put forward June 15 to allow the new AD to be able to coach on a one-year trial, with a plan in place for having his or her responsibilities covered during the times he or she was preoccupied with coaching.
While that motion was approved, 3-2, it upset 12th-year Board member Jeff Peavey, who didn’t think such a vote should have been held in the absence of four Board members. He departed immediately after voting “no,” and Roberts did not bring a nomination forward, citing a lack of majority vote on the issue and the need to discuss it further.
Following an executive session on Wednesday, a motion for the previous 3-2 vote to be rescinded and for the matter to be re-opened for discussion was approved, 6-3.
No further discussion took place, however, and Peavy made a motion that Lebanon’s new director of athletics and co-curricular activities “not be allowed to coach going forward,” which passed, 5-4.
Roberts then made her nomination of Stone, approved unanimously.
“I think with the work that a full-time athletic director needs to do at Lebanon, they have enough on their plate without coaching at the same time,” Peavy said. “I think last week’s vote, with only five Board members present. … It was too big of a decision not too have all nine here for that vote. If it were for a teacher, it might have been a different story.”
Wendy Hall, who’d brought forward the previous motion to allow the AD to coach on a one-year trial with stipulations, thought it would be “a good opportunity to see if it could work.”
Other area schools have had athletic directors who have doubled as coaches, including Hanover High AD Mike Jackson, who coached the Marauders baseball team for 20 years before stepping down prior to last spring. Lebanon native Marty Brown, now retired, was a longtime boys basketball coach and athletic director at Kearsarge Regional High in North Sutton, N.H.
“I just think (allowing Lebanon’s new AD to coach) was worthy of consideration,” Hall said. “They’re allowed to coach at other schools, and it isn’t clear to me why (prohibiting that) is part of the job description at Lebanon.”
Long-time Lebanon High physical education teacher and girls basketball coach Tim Kehoe had applied for the position, but was unwilling to relinquish his commitment to the girls basketball program. It is widely presumed Kehoe was a finalist and that discussion to remove language that prohibits Lebanon’s AD from coaching was motivated by his candidacy.
“I applied for the position, but I also have a commitment to (the girls basketball team),” said Kehoe, who’s entering his 27th year with the Raiders and has 491 career wins, including four state titles. “I told the girls I would be coaching them next year, and I’m happy where I am.”
Kehoe said he saw no language in the job posting that prohibited the new AD from coaching, but added, “it might have been my mistake.”
“It wasn’t meant to be for me right now,” Kehoe said. “I will say that Mike Stone is a great guy and I’m happy for him.”
A 13-member search committee that included Smith, Peavy, parents and two students was charged with quickly finding a replacement for Stevenson, who announced his resignation four weeks ago citing a desire to return to his native Michigan.
Smith was excited to have landed Stone, regarded highly during his time at Hartford.
“Like so many people in the Upper Valley, I know Mike has been an excellent coach and teacher,” Smith said. “All of his (former) players and parents of his players and students speak very well of him. I think it’s going to be wonderful to have him.”
In his first administrative role, Stone expects to be “plenty busy,” but said he is looking forward to the challenge.
“I can’t wait to get started,” he said.
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.