(Photo: Coshocton Tribune)

WARSAW, Ohio – After multiple complaints filed by River View High School parents led to an internal investigation into head football coach Bob Forgrave’s conduct, the complaints have now reached the state level.

The Ohio Department of Education, as part of its policy, would not confirm nor deny an ongoing investigation into Forgrave’s conduct. However, River View parent Angela Mehok has received confirmation from ODE that it would be in touch with her after she sent an email to the state agency. She provided the Tribune with a copy of that email, which details complaints from multiple parents and students.

Multiple phone calls to Forgrave for comment were not returned.

Forgrave, a 1973 River View graduate, has been the head football coach, science teacher and strength coach since returning to his alma mater in 2014. His 2015-16 contract shows he made $61,477 in the three positions.

He will continue as the strength coach and head football coach in the 2016-17 school year, according to a contract signed March 14. In a board meeting this month, it was decided Forgrave will teach the school’s college plus conditioning and fitness course instead of high school science. His salary is scheduled to be $64,302 for the 2016-17 school year.

Mehok contacted the state in regard to Forgrave after parents and local school board members met in an executive session in November. Mehok, other River View parents and a student were in the executive session with the board members, but the specifics of the meeting have not been released as it involved personnel.

“After I heard what was said in the closed-door meeting with the board, I decided to take it further to the Ohio Board of Education,” she said. “I do not want anymore kids affected by (Forgrave’s) inappropriate behavior.”

River View School Board President Dan Hothem declined to comment. “I don’t want to jeopardize the investigation. We’ve already investigated it. It is being investigated at the state level now,” he said.

Through a public records request, the Tribune obtained multiple emails detailing complaints sent to Superintendent Dalton Summers in November.

Among those complaints were reported instances of foul language, negativity toward the team or a specific player, physical altercations on the field and one player staying at Forgrave’s house.

“Whatever the complaints are, we go through each one of them,” Summers said of the internal investigation the district conducted. “Of course the coach had reasoning for why those things happened. There was an answer for most of them, some of them, like the cussing, there was no answer for. What I was concerned about with a lot of those letters was the demeanor in general. Whether you are right, wrong or indifferent, you still have to create an atmosphere that is going to be successful,” Summers said.

Upon completion of the internal investigation, Summers reprimanded Forgrave for the language he used when speaking to a player.

“When we hire coaches, one of the first things I tell them is that I will not defend your language. I’m not going to defend your language. There is no defense period,” Summers said.

In a disciplinary hearing, at which principal Chuck Rinkes and athletic director Rod Lindsey were in attendance, Forgrave did admit to using inappropriate language, Summers said, and, according to the official reprimand, apologized to the player and his family.

The Tribune, as part of its records request, also was given a list of complaints, which Summers said he believes were written down during the executive session. Much of that list shared similar complaints to the emails Summers received in November, but also included a complaint that Forgrave was nude in the locker room “a couple times” in the presence of students.

Forgrave denied he was nude in the locker room, Summers said.

“When I said this was a complaint, he was quick to say that’s never happened,” Summers said. “I’ve never heard anybody else tell me that was true.”

Forgrave, according to Summers, admitted to having a student stay at his home, but said it was because the student had trouble getting to practice.

“As far as staying at the house, I never had a report about it until November and I’ve never received a report of misconduct when he stayed there,” Summers said. “That was discussed and we told (Forgrave) it was not a good practice to have. As far as I know, that hasn’t happened again.”

There is no next step in place if Forgrave uses foul language again, Summers said.

“I’ve never in my time, had a second time. I’m knocking on wood, but I’ve never issued a reprimand to a coach where there has been the incident happen twice. Insubordination isn’t something I would tolerate,” Summers said.

For Mehok, however, the reprimand was not enough.

“I feel like our school board does a good job of protecting our students, but at this point I feel like they dropped the ball,” she said. “He has done damage to many of the kids with his intimidation, name calling and being disrespectful.”