Clearfield High coach and teacher fired in troubled Davis County School District
Nov 23, 2021, 5:04 PM | Updated: 6:12 pm
FILE (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)
(Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)
A teacher and coach at Clearfield High School has been fired for allegedly leaving an aggressive, threatening voicemail for a student.
Tuesday afternoon the Davis County School District announced Don Eck had been terminated after the district said in a statement that discipline was needed after an investigation into the alleged phone message that placed Eck on administrative leave Oct. 25.
According to the Standard-Examiner, Eck left a message for a football player who quit the team after a game in late October. In the message Eck allegedly said he was going to put a stop to negative social media posts by the player’s mother and claimed the player quitting was selfish.
There are unconfirmed reports that Eck was being investigated for more than just the voicemail.
Davis County School District released the following statement:
The Davis School District this afternoon terminated the employment of Mr. Don Eck as a teacher and coach at Clearfield High School.
Mr. Eck was placed on administrative leave on Oct. 25, soon after allegations surfaced regarding his conduct. The district then investigated the situation and concluded that disciplinary action was needed.
The district does not condone such behavior from any of its employees.
Eck was new to the school this season after college football at the University of Utah and coaching at other schools in Utah.
The school district has been under increased scrutiny and pressure and recently agreed to take steps to address widespread racial harassment found in an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ found the school district persistently failed to respond to reports of race-based harassment.
The investigation found “widespread racial harassment of Black and Asian American students” including hundreds of instances of the use of racial slurs and epithets and physical assaults at dozens of schools.
The report said “Black students reported striking similar experiences throughout the district.” Those who attended school in other districts said things were worse in the Davis School District.
The district also recently lost a 10-year-old girl who was Black and was on the autism spectrum when she took her own life. Her family said she was the victim of bullying.
