Former Del Oro coach alleges trustee overreach, intimidation in girls basketball program

A former Del Oro High School girls basketball assistant coach says she and the rest of the varsity coaching staff were forced out of the program after refusing directives she believes originated with a district trustee who overstepped his authority, raising serious questions about governance, conflicts of interest and the balance of power inside the Placer Union High School District. Taylor Cirksena, a Del Oro alum and longtime coach in the program, said the resignations of the varsity coaching staff this season, including head coach Amir Farooq, were not voluntary and came amid what she described as involvement by Trustee Tom Duncan in coaching hires, staffing decisions and even basketball strategy. "Our staff has never quit on anything in our lives," Cirksena said in an interview with the Auburn Journal on Dec. 30. "If it was truly up to us, we never would have walked away from a team of nine amazing young women." Duncan is an elected trustee, a role that traditionally focuses on policy, budget oversight and superintendent evaluation but not day-to-day athletic operations or personnel decisions. Duncan has a daughter on the varsity girls basketball team at Del Oro and serves as president of the Junior Lady Eagles Basketball Club, the feeder program for Del Oro. When the staff resigned in December, Del Oro's varsity team was 7-1 and ranked in the top 40 in California on MaxPreps. Cirksena said the program's success was no longer being evaluated on wins, player development or culture, but instead on the preferences of a single board member. "Success used to be measured by the success of the team," she said. "At the time we were forced to resign, success was being measured by what one individual thought should and should not be happening within our program." Cirksena said the breaking point came during a series of meetings in December, when the varsity coaching staff was told they were required to add a current player's parent to the coaching staff, a move the coaches opposed due to concerns about conflicts of interest. "It was communicated to us that we did not have a choice in the matter," Cirksena said. "We believed in not having parents of current players on staff. We had experienced conflicts in the past, and we felt it was in the best interest of both players and parents." Former Del Oro girls basketball coach Shawn Huckaby, who served on the interview panel when Farooq was hired as head coach in the spring of 2025, confirmed to the Auburn Journal that Duncan strongly advocated for a specific parent to be added to the varsity staff. Huckaby said while he couldn't share anything about the interviews, he noted Duncan was not a part of the original committee selected by the school and that "he forced his way onto the committee." According to Cirksena, the directive to add the parent to the staff was delivered through administrators, but it was made clear the decision was not theirs. On Dec. 19, she said Principal Nick Zerwas and Athletic Director John Hilton told Farooq the parent needed to be added to the staff and that a decision was required that night. That evening, during a meeting with school and district administrators, one Del Oro assistant asked whether the staff had a choice. "They shook their head no," Cirksena said. "Signaling that it was not actually a choice but rather a directive." Because the staff was unwilling to comply, Cirksena said the resignations that followed were effectively forced. "Our resignations were not voluntary," she said. Jennifer Poe, the mother of a current Del Oro player, told the Journal, "Pressuring these winning basketball coaches to leave time after time, and especially within days of the season starting, puts the athletes and the team at a disadvantage in the SFL (Sierra Foothill League). It also undercuts the ability of Del Oro to attract quality coaches. Who wants to come here knowing this is how you'll be treated?" Cirksena was careful to separate her criticism of the board from her assessment of site and district administrators, whom she said were placed in an impossible position. "In no way do I blame any of the school's administration," she said. "It was made clear to us that they were not the ones calling the shots at the end of the day. They are human beings who have to answer to someone and protect their own livelihoods." The Journal reached out to Hilton and Zerwas for comment. Hilton declined. Zerwas said he couldn't comment on personnel matters but said the focus is on having the girls finish the season strong. Early warnings and behind-the-scenes influence Cirksena said her concerns about trustee involvement began months earlier. She described an April 26 phone call in which Duncan told her then-head coach MJ Masys was under investigation before that information had been made public and the head coaching position would soon be opening. Placer Union High School District board policies 4119.21, 4219.21 and 4319.21 state personnel matters such as investigations and employment actions must remain confidential and be addressed through appropriate administrative processes. Under California Education Code Section 44031, personnel files and employment-related investigations are protected as confidential. During the same call, Cirksena said Duncan encouraged her to pursue the job, despite her expressing hesitation. "I shared my hesitations," Cirksena said. "I was living in Sacramento and starting a doctoral program in the fall." Despite that, she said Duncan pushed forward. "He said we just needed me to be the face of the program and that him and others would take care of the behind-the-scenes work," she said. Cirksena said Duncan also advocated during the call for adding the same parent to the coaching staff — specifically to implement an offensive system Duncan wanted the program to run. She said Duncan referenced administrative support, telling her former Athletic Director Jill Butler would not be "an issue anymore" before Cirksena was even aware Butler left the position. "He vouched for the new athletic director," Cirksena said. "He also said I didn't have to worry about not having Principal Zerwas' support." According to Cirksena, Duncan went further. "He went on to state that if Nick (Zerwas) didn't get on board, he will be gone, too," she said. Cirksena said Duncan's involvement represented a dramatic departure from past practice at Del Oro. "For context, I had never even heard mention of the board and trustees prior to this past spring," she said. "That is how not involved board members were in athletics and coaching decisions." She said it felt inappropriate for a trustee to recruit coaches, weigh in on offensive systems, propose staffing arrangements or discuss the removal of administrators. "I don't claim to be an expert in board roles," she said. "But it feels highly inappropriate for trustees to be doing those things." Fear inside the system Cirksena said she believes fear played a significant role in why administrators did not publicly challenge Duncan. "I felt as though administrators were afraid to stand up to him because they had to be concerned for their own livelihoods," she said. She said Duncan was perceived as someone willing to use his power aggressively to achieve desired outcomes. "If staff were to stand up to Trustee Duncan, they would need to be concerned not just about their job security at Del Oro or in the Placer District but in neighboring districts as well," she said. Cirksena said administrators repeatedly told the staff they were supported, but that changed once Duncan became unhappy. "At that point, administrators were supportive privately but constrained publicly," she said. "Direct questions about alternatives were met with vague or deferred answers." She said fear of opposing Duncan was not limited to athletics. "There is a general undertone within the school that people are afraid to meet Trustee Duncan with any amount of resistance," she said. Several parents, coaches from other Del Oro programs and school employees voiced similar concerns but requested anonymity, citing fear of retaliation from Duncan. 'Hitting a lot of it on the head' Cirksena said her concerns about trustee influence were acknowledged during a Dec. 19 meeting. "A district staff member confirmed that I had been 'hitting a lot of it on the head' when I expressed concern that Trustee Duncan was using his power as a board member to influence the directives we were being given," she said. She also said she was told by Duncan before Masys resigned the coach would no longer be the head coach, and later learned Masys feared her teaching career could be jeopardized if she did not step down. Gold Mountain California News Media reached out to Masys, but she declined an interview. Program culture trending down Amid these governance and trustee concerns, former coaches say the program's once-stable culture has declined. Under longtime head coach Mike Takayama, the Lady Eagles were stalwarts in the Sac-Joaquin Section, regularly making deep postseason runs and had multiple teams finish in the top 100 nationally. Huckaby said the program's culture shifted dramatically after Takayama passed away in June 2016. "Mike Takayama took over the program in 1985 and established one of the most respected girls basketball programs in the area," said Huckaby. "The consistency he established over 30 years of coaching helped sustain a positive culture through the good years and the bad years." Huckaby said the family-like culture largely persisted under his leadership, even during the challenges of the pandemic. But that stability began to unravel under Masys and Jennifer Judge as parent influence increased and administrative support faltered. "MJ and Jennifer were both good young female coaches with no experience coaching varsity basketball. They were treated like outsiders and were not well-respected by fellow coaches, players or parents," said Huckaby. "They were not given much chance to succeed. The program consistency and positive culture eroded." Huckaby praised Farooq for working to rebuild trust and restore a positive environment. "Since being hired as head coach, Amir Farooq has focused his efforts on establishing trust and building relationships with players, parents and coaches," said Huckaby. "He was well on his way to doing that. Though he lacked varsity coaching experience, he was the right man for the job." Huckaby described the overall environment in recent years as "very dysfunctional and contentious," with weak administrative support allowing parent interference to dominate. Fallout extends to players One former Del Oro parent, Vic Greco, said the instability inside the girls basketball program ultimately pushed his family to leave the school entirely. Greco's daughter was part of Del Oro's feeder system since second grade but said the turmoil within the program prompted him to transfer his daughter to Colfax. He said the decision was not made lightly and described his daughter as "dedicated, reliable and loyal to Loomis." Greco added that walking away from the program after years of investment would only happen under dire circumstances. Greco framed those circumstances as part of a broader breakdown in leadership and transparency within Del Oro athletics. In a written statement, he said the program has become "leaderless and rudderless," with athletic decisions increasingly influenced by parents. He contrasted that with what he described as a longstanding Placer County tradition in which coaches, not parents or administrators, set program culture, and playing roles were determined by merit. Greco said he holds high personal respect for Duncan's involvement in youth sports and acknowledged voting for him to serve on the school board. However, Greco raised concerns about a board policy adopted after Duncan's election that requires school board members to be invited onto athletic hiring panels, a move he said is unprecedented in the board's history. Greco questioned why the board would insert itself into athletic decisions despite not listing athletics among its stated initiatives and lacking high-level athletic résumés. "If board members influenced complaints, hiring decisions or resignations while having children in the same program, that represents a serious conflict of interest," Greco said. Questions of governance Cirksena's allegations raise broader questions about how the district defines the boundaries between governance and administration, and how conflicts of interest are handled when board members have children participating in district programs. According to the PUHSD website, the board's responsibilities include serving as a trustee for students, hearing public input, setting district policies and goals, overseeing how funds are prioritized and spent, maintaining relationships with other school boards and related organizations, overseeing employee relations and approving contracts and establishing curriculum and standards. Nowhere in these responsibilities does it state the board has authority to direct or influence athletic programs. In a 2024 candidate questionnaire with Gold Mountain California News Media, Duncan described his intended role on the board as focused on policy and collaboration, saying he looked forward to being "a reasonable, logical, and distinctive voice on the board." He did not reference involvement in athletic staffing or program operations. Duncan's statement Before publishing this report, the Journal asked Duncan a series of questions about his involvement with the Del Oro girls basketball program and the boundaries of his role as a school board member. He was asked what policies or guidelines he relies on to determine when board members should be involved in athletic programs, what his direct involvement has been since being elected, and whether he has communicated with coaches, administrators or district staff about personnel matters, including evaluations, hiring or coaching changes. He was also asked whether such communications were as a parent or a board member, whether he has advocated for specific personnel decisions, participated in interview panels or otherwise influenced coaching decisions, and whether he believes a conflict of interest exists when a board member has influence over a program in which their child participates. Finally, he was asked how he defines the boundary between board oversight and administrative decision-making, and how he responds to concerns from coaches and parents that he has overstepped his role. In a written statement to the Journal on Friday evening, Jan. 2, Duncan said he was speaking on his behalf and not on behalf of the board. He emphasized that his role as a school board member is limited to governance and oversight, not day-to-day operations or personnel decisions. He said personnel decisions, evaluations and supervision are the responsibility of district staff, not individual board members, and that oversight exists to ensure systems are functioning as intended, "not to influence specific outcomes." Duncan also acknowledged serving in multiple roles in the community, including as a parent and president of the Lady Eagles Junior Basketball Club, and said awareness makes maintaining boundaries "more important." He said any communication he has with district staff is limited to governance-level issues such as policy, process or broader system considerations. "As a recently elected Board member, my role is governance, not operations. I rely on Board bylaws and district policy's that clearly separate oversight from day-to-day management. The Board's responsibility is to approve district hires based on administrative recommendations; personnel decisions, evaluations, and supervision are the responsibility of staff, not individual Board members," Duncan wrote. Duncan noted that in 2022, he became president of Jr. Lady Eagles, which prepares younger athletes for the high school team. He said it's routine for him and other club leaders to interact with varsity staff while organizing fundraisers and other related events. He acknowledged that he wears multiple hats in the community, including as a parent, and said awareness makes it especially important to maintain boundaries. In programs where his child participates, he said he is careful to separate his role as a parent from his responsibilities as a board member. Duncan said any communications with the superintendent or district staff are limited to governance-level matters, such as policy, process and system oversight. He emphasized that his oversight is meant to ensure systems are functioning properly, not to influence specific outcomes, and that maintaining adherence to district processes has been a key part of his role amid recent coaching turnovers. He described his approach as a deliberate effort to respect the boundaries between governance and administration, saying he is focused on upholding both the integrity of the board and the needs of students while supporting district staff to ensure a positive experience for all athletes. Legal and policy framework California Government Code Section 87100 prohibits public officials from participating in or influencing decisions in which they have a personal or financial interest. California Education Code Section 35107 further specifies school boards may act only as a collective body at properly noticed meetings, and that individual trustees do not have independent decision-making authority. According to PUHSD Bylaw 9270, "No Board member, district employee, or other person in a designated position shall participate in the making of any decision for the district when the decision will or may be affected by the Board member's, district employee's, or other designated persons financial, family, or other personal interest or consideration." District Board Policy 9005 reinforces those principles by limiting trustee authority to actions taken by the full governing board and assigning day-to-day operations and personnel decisions to district administration. The next PUHSD school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 20.