Principal backs color guard coach in clash

SPRING HILL –

Springstead High School’s principal says complaints that a student was verbally abused or removed from the school’s color guard team by the coach are unfounded.

Last week, SHS parent Lisa Perez said her daughter Marisa was removed from the color guard team after both made complaints about the coach, Kristi Wahl.

Marisa said bad blood between her mother and the coach resulted in Wahl becoming verbally abusive to her as well.

Lisa Perez said that after she brought the matter to Springstead band director Richard Dasher, he and Principal Susan Duval decided to remove Marisa from the team rather than address their concerns.

Wanting proof, Perez recorded one meeting between Dasher and Duval and herself, during which Dasher can be heard saying the situation was “very hostile” and was recommending Marisa not return.

However, Duval, who didn’t return calls on the matter until Wednesday, said complaints against Wahl are unfounded and reiterated that Perez’s daughter had quit the team — multiple times.

As to Wahl, Duval said she investigated Perez’s complaints and found them to be untrue.

“I believe she follows the correct processes and treats all students fairly,” Duval said.

* * * * *

Perez said things became heated between her and Wahl recently, after she reported safety and lack of paperwork concerns to the Florida Federation of Color Guards Circuit — the state oversight group for competitions — alleging the Springstead unit was out of compliance on a number of issues.

In Perez’s recording of her meeting with Dasher, he can be heard telling her last week that the color guard practice environment was not only “very hostile,” but worse than he thought it was and he was worried that if Marisa went back to practice, she’d be “walking into a hornets’ nest.”

He then recommended Marisa not return to practice for the remainder of the school year.

Perez told Hernando Today that the recordings show administrators know there are problems with the color guard coach that they’re not willing to address — adding that removing her daughter was the easier solution.

But Duval said that wasn’t at all the case, adding that Dasher attempted to mend relations to allow Marisa back on the team.

However, she said Perez’s daughter kept going back and forth on quitting the team and that she finally decided that it should stick.

Perez calls that claim bogus, adding that the decision to consider Marisa as quitting the team came after Dasher told them he would smooth things over with the coach — only to have Marisa removed from the team a day later.

The next day, Dasher was recorded recommending Marisa not return.

However, whether Marisa quit or was removed remains the sticking point between Perez and school officials.

“I don’t know what’s next,” Perez said when asked whether she would pursue the matter further.

Duval, however, considers the matter closed, although she is evaluating her options to pursue legal action — believing the meeting was recorded illegally.

“I don’t know the legal ins and outs, but I am pursuing this and will just let it go from there,” Duval said.

[email protected] (352) 544-5271