Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for September 12, 2007 CHRISTOPHER COACH RESIGNS

Christopher board accepts coach's resignation

By Becky Malkovich, The Southern

CHRISTOPHER - The Christopher Unit School District school board members accepted the resignation Tuesday night of head basketball coach Gary Gischer Jr.

The Bearcats coach's future with the program has been the topic of speculation since he was cited for a number of charges, including DUI, following an Aug. 24 traffic stop in rural Franklin County.

The board accepted the resignation at a special meeting called, according to the agenda, to "take action on personnel with respect to extracurricular activities and employment of personnel."

The board went into executive session immediately after the meeting was called to order. Afterreturning from a 45-minute closed session, a motion was made to accept Gischer's resignation "based upon the (Franklin County) state's attorney dismissing a portion of the charges" and on the advice of board attorney Stephen Green.

However when reached Tuesday night, State's Attorney Tom Dinn said no charges have been dismissed against Gischer.

"All charges are pending and plea negotiations are ongoing," Dinn said. "Nothing has been dismissed."

Court records state Gischer faces three misdemeanor charges from the traffic stop: DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia and possessing 2.5 to 10 grams of cannabis.

Green said the resignation was submitted to the board through Gischer's attorney and is effective immediately. The action taken by the board does not affect Gischer's tenured teaching position at the school.

Gischer has been a physical education teacher at the high school since 2000, according to the school's Web site. He led the Bearcats to a 21-7 mark last year, their best season since 2002-03.

Gischer is scheduled to make a first court appearance at 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 25.

Reporter Todd Hefferman contributed to this story.