Pottsville parents' testimony supports suspended athletic director

Yahoo

05-03-2025

Several Pottsville parents testified Tuesday during a termination hearing for a suspended athletic administrator that they did not worry about messages and social media interactions that their daughters received from him.
The second round of the hearing for Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, 37, a former University of Iowa football star hired May 22 as Pottsville School District's director of athletics and student activities, included about seven hours of testimony.
In October the district suspended him — first with pay and a day later without pay — after school officials charged him with violating 11 district policies and the state school code and ignoring repeated instruction and warnings from administrators to correct his behavior.
District officials say that he did not perform his job well, that his conduct was improper and that he crossed professional boundaries with children through text messages and by commenting on, reposting and adding emojis to Instagram posts.
On Tuesday, though, the mothers of two female Pottsville High School students said that they never thought of Johnson-Koulianos's online communication with their girls as being sexually suggestive or otherwise out-of-line.
The parents were called as witnesses for Johnson-Koulianos by his attorney, Joseph Nahas of Frackville.
Suspended Pottsville School District athletic administrator Derrell Johnson-Koulianos during his termination hearing Tuesday. (MICHAEL URBAN/STAFF REPORTER)
One mother spoke about his commenting on a photo of her daughter, who is a junior. As a parent she saw his use of fire emojis and phrases like 'fire fits' and 'immaculate vibes' in reference to their clothing and appearance as his way of communicating with students in language they can relate to.
When asked by Nahas whether it bothered her, the parent said, 'absolutely not.'
'I really thought nothing of it,' she said. 'That's typical of the way kids to talk to kids.'
Another mother, whose daughter's post about winning a volleyball award was reposted by Johnson-Koulianos, said that she saw that action as him promoting a Pottsville athlete.
Nahas also called as a witness a 19-year-old Pottsville senior who testified that she was called in to speak with district officials and Pottsville Police about a rumor circulating the school that she and Johnson-Koulianos had sexual contact, which she denied.
When asked where the accusation came from, she said, 'I have no idea.'
Her mother also testified, and she, too, denied the allegation made about Johnson-Koulianos having sex with her daughter.
Johnson-Koulianos was never criminally charged with that offense, but Nahas said that accusation was still the main reason behind his suspension.
The Pottsville administration was represented by attorney Sarah Modrick, who said that is not accurate. While the district investigated that allegation, it was not among the district's charges against him and did not bring his suspension, she said.
The real reasons behind his suspension, Modrick said, were explained by the witnesses she called: Dr. Jared Gerace, the district's director of curriculum, instruction and assessment and its safety and security coordinator; Tiffany Hummel, who is the high school principal; and Scott Mattea, assistant athletic director and activities treasurer.
The three testified about Johnson-Koulianos's failures to fulfill his duties as an administrator, to follow district guidelines about staff-student relationships, and his insubordination as he continued to reach out to district staff, students and officials during his suspension although administrators ordered him not to.
The district's investigation into Johnson-Koulianos 'substantiated that he violated professional boundaries,' Gerace said.
The hearing is tentatively scheduled to resume on April 7, with Johnson-Koulianos to be the next witness to testify.
When the hearing concludes, hearing officer Marc Fisher of Allentown will make a report to the board and recommend that it either fire or retain Johnson-Koulianos. That recommendation is not binding, though, and the board members are free to vote as they choose.
Several board members were present during Tuesday's testimony.
An expanded version of this story will be posted Wednesday on republicanherald.com and will run in Thursday's print edition.