CANFIELD Suspend coach, parent urges school board

The coach is charged with 11 counts of gambling.
By JEANNE STARMACK
VINDICATOR STAFF REPORTER
CANFIELD -- A Canfield Township man whose son used to play for the high school baseball team is asking the school board to suspend baseball coach Anthony Ross until a criminal case against him has been resolved.
Ross is charged with 11 misdemeanor counts of gambling in connection with several Texas Hold 'Em tournaments that he said he helped organize to raise money for the high school baseball players, according to a Canfield police report.
Stephen Goske, who says he feels comfortable speaking out because his son is no longer on the team, told the board Monday that it should take action immediately and not wait until the court case is over to suspend him from his coaching duties. He is also an Occupational Work Experience teacher at the high school.
He said the board could suspend Ross with pay.
Charged
After an investigation, police charged Ross in August with holding the tournaments for profit.
According to police reports, the tournaments began in February 2004 and continued until January 2005. They were held at the Shangri-La on West Calla Road.
Police said that in July, Ross reported gross proceeds to them of $60,000 from the tournaments, but only about $1,500 appears to have been given to student athletes. Police said that Ross told them he and other coaches organized the tournaments under the name Canfield Baseball. But police said neither Canfield Baseball nor a second organization formed by Ross, Legends of the Field Education Foundation Inc., had I.R.S. tax exemption status to hold fund-raisers for charity.
Police said the fund raising also violated state law, which says organizations have to be in existence for two continuous years before conducting games of chance.
During their investigation, police also interviewed school Superintendent Dante Zambrini, who said that he became aware of the tournaments in August 2004 and that he ordered Ross to stop, according to the report.
Unanswered questions
Goske said Monday that there are too many unanswered questions in the Ross case.
"Where is the money? Where are the scholarships?" he said. "It's not fair to students to leave this situation hanging."
The board did not respond to Goske's statement.
Goske said he knows there have been anonymous letters sent to the board that have asked for Ross' removal.
Board member Martha Zarlenga confirmed that the board has received "less than 10" such letters. Zarlenga said, however, that the board has received at least 50 letters in support of Ross.
Zarlenga said the board cannot discuss personnel matters and has nothing to do with the court case.
Ross said he does not want to comment at this time on anything concerning the case. He is scheduled to appear in county court in Boardman on Oct. 4 for a pretrial hearing.