"He's No Coach" and We Agree

Randy Hester

Our blogs on accused Vina coach Sonny Tibbs and coach/principal James Pharr brought scads of e-mails to our inbox. Many contained personal statements (even attacks) concerning the two Vina High School employees, or others, that cannot be reproduced here. Those which can be published are very interesting:

* Shoalanda, get the facts straight. James Pharr is no coach. Vina's football team hasn't won a game in two years. He has coached 4 years and his record is 4-36. (Point taken)

* Franklin County School Superintendent Gary Williams told the parents 2 years ago that it was Pharr's last year as coach because he didn't want a principal coaching because it would take away from him paying attention to his principal duties. Well, he lied. He is still coach and look what all is happening.

* I call Vina High the house that (Board Chair) Randy Hester built. He was elected by the people for the people, but he runs it elected by the people for Randy Hester's family. Both of his sisters drive buses. His wife drives a bus and is an aide.

* No big loss if Tibbs gets fired. The boy's basketball team didn't win a game last year and probably won't this year.

* Pharr got a grant for $6000.00 to buy a new lawnmower for the school. He keeps it for the football field and doesn't let the other coaches use it unless they want to help pay for it. He said he was the one who asked Roger Bedford for the money for it and if they wanted to use it they could pay to use it. (If proved, this might be an ethics violation?)

* Convicts are on campus during school hours weed eating, mowing and cleaning. I don't think they should be on campus while children are present but it has been going on for 2 years. There was even had an instance last year or maybe the year before where a parent was arrested because she was bringing drugs to one of the convicts on campus. 

And finally...

*  I just read Lisa White's comment. My child was at Vina when all of that was going on with Bynam and said that was bull crap. The whole class was talking about that because that boy was in her classroom all day long. Even when she was to be teaching them. When the Tibbs thing broke on the news my kids and their friends who were at our house said they had all been suspecting something because the two of them were always in the new gym together with or without other students in there. A principal should be aware of this stuff. My child said Pharr has no idea what is going on at school because all he does is stay at the weight room or the field house.

We received several comments that were in a similar vein, but you get the picture. The image of an asylum run by the inmates does come to mind. One reader suggested an attorney general's probe. We doubt that is feasible, but anyone may file an ethics complaint with the state ethics commission or contact the accrediting body:

Alabama Commission on Higher Education

 

Telephone:  (334) 242-1998

 

Fax:  (334) 242-0268

 

Delivery Address
100 North Union Street
Montgomery, AL  36104-3758

 

Mailing Address

P. O. Box 302000
Montgomery, AL  36130-2000

Shoalanda

Who is James K. Pharr & Just What Does He Know?

A few readers have asked us about Vina High School Principal James K. Pharr and how much he knew of at least two sex scandals in his school. Obviously, we can't say what Pharr knew...or to use the old cliche'...just when he knew it.

Pharr was raised in Hackleburg and received his teaching degree from the University of North Alabama. In 2010, the Franklin County Board of Education renewed his contract as principal of the small county high school. Pharr was principal when a married female teacher began a sexual affair with a student over ten years her junior. Now another married teacher has initiated an affair under Pharr's watch.

If the latest news accounts are correct, it was the family of Sonny Tibbs' victim/lover that informed authorities of the affair--not school officials. We didn't have to dig too deeply to discover that Pharr is a coach himself and leads the Red Devils football team.

It's beginning to look a little like a good ol' boy network, isn't it? We hope the Franklin County Board of Education will hold anyone responsible who knew about Coach Sonny Tibb's sexploits with students...but we're not holding our breath.

*****

We haven't done an actual count of how many secondary schools are in the Lauderdale/Colbert/Franklin area. Counting non-public schools, an estimate would number close to 20. Of these 20 or so schools, the only two reported cases of teacher-student sex have been at one school in Franklin County...and not a very large school at that. Either such cases are grossly under reported or the problems at Vina are so out of control that no responsible parent would send their child to that school.



Shoalanda