Kettering Fairmont AD Donoher seeks hearing

Brian Donoher, recommended to be fired as athletic director at Kettering Fairmont High School, on Friday asked for a hearing to appeal that recommendation.

Today was the deadline for Donoher to request a hearing on his termination, a request he is allowed by law. Friday, the Kettering School Board received a letter from Donoher's attorney requesting the hearing,  Superintendent Jim Schoenlein said.

No hearing date has been set, Schoenlein said, but "we are moving quickly and carefully towards a resolution to the situation."

The school board on Feb. 14 took a first step toward dismissing Donoher, approving a recommendation to consider terminating his contract “for good and just cause.”

Donoher, the 42-year-old son of famed University of Dayton men’s basketball coach Don Donoher, was charged with soliciting a prostitute earlier this month in Dayton. The married father of three was placed on paid administrative leave shortly after his arrest Feb. 1, and since that time has been put on unpaid family medical leave.

According to the Ohio Revised Code, Donoher had 10 days to request the hearing, during which he would be represented by an official from the Ohio Department of Education. Had he declined, according to school officials, his contract would have been terminated.

Donoher's arrest was part of a weeklong Dayton Police Department sting targeting sex customers. After his arrest, according to police reports, Donoher told police he had done this “about 10 different times in the last year.”

Schoenlein has said that revelation was troubling. “Up to that point, there was some sentiment in the community that everybody makes mistakes, that everybody’s entitled to a second chance,” he said on Feb. 14. “When that came out, that sort of squelched that support.”

Assistant Athletic Director Frank Baxter is the interim athletic director. Baxter is in his 14th year at Fairmont, and his third as assistant AD. He also coaches wrestling and teaches social studies. Baxter lauded the athletic department and school staff for stepping up in the last couple of weeks.

The next court date for Donoher, who has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of soliciting and possession of a criminal tool, is March 28.