Action Again Delayed on Bingham Complaint

In a repeat of the last week's delayed action on the complaint brought by former Athletic Director and Track and Field coach Jenean Bingham against Healdsburg Unified School District Superintendent Jeff Harding, as well as Healdsburg High School Principal Chris Vanden Heuvel.

Bingham, through her attorney, requested the postponement. She was unavailable to attend the meeting.

“During the closed session we received a request from Jenean Bingham through her attorney to defer the decision until the next regular board meeting,” read board president Vince Dougherty from a written statement. The next regular HUSD school board meeting is Wednesday, Jan. 16.

The meeting, held at the district office on the HHS campus, entered the closed-door session after recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. With the exception of new trustee Donna del Rey, all school board members were present.

Healdsburg Area Teacher Association president Barbara Pinney and union representative Pat Sabo both attended the meeting. In addition, Annie Millar, the district's director of curriculum and instruction, was present.

“We’re here to wait to hear how they are going to respond to [the investigator’s] report,” said Sabo.

As reported previously on Healdsburg Patch, at the Dec. 21 meeting the board received its first presentation by investigator Chris Reynolds. The school hired him to look into the allegations brought by Bingham. Patch sources say the report is extensive and runs to hundreds of pages.

Bingham and numerous other HUSD faculty, coaching staff and students publicly protested Bingham’s firing, which created a ripple of outrage throughout the Sonoma County school athletics community.

Bingham continues to remain silent on the specifics of her complaint, other than to state that she wanted to air the truth about detrimental practices at the school.

HHS Social Studies teacher and Girl’s Varsity Softball coach Brian Osborn took over the Athletic Director’s position last May. In 2005, he had served as boys AD at the school.

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Former Aggie coach, Chris Puppioni was hired as the new HHS Track and Field head coach. Puppioni served in a variety of coaching positions at UC Davis, including Head Cross Country coach. HHS will be the third high school Puppioni has coached at since leaving UCD in 2009.

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