Weber High principal retires amid football recruiting investigation, district says

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PLEASANT VIEW, Weber County — Weber High School Principal Chris Earnest has resigned from her position more than a month after she was placed on leave amid an investigation into allegations of inappropriate recruiting in the school's football program.

Earnest was initially placed on leave on Aug. 16 and the district announced her resignation Thursday.

"Like other human resource investigations, it is not always clear from the beginning what allegations may arise. While this investigation took longer than the district would have liked, it was necessary to follow through with the complaints that the district received," reads a statement from Weber School District released Thursday. "Anything less than following through with reports would have resulted in an incomplete investigation. Consequently, the investigation did take time, and the district recognizes the stress this placed on Ms. Earnest."

Earnest's decision to step down can be traced back to her involvement in investigating a complaint received before the start of the 2023-24 school year, which alleged that one or more players had been recruited from the Davis School District by Weber High School assistant coaches.

It was determined that a coach at Weber High "exercised undue influence in the recruitment of players" and the case was referred to the Region 1 Board of Managers.

Sometime during the investigation into the recruiting, additional allegations of "unprofessional conduct and potential violations of district policies" regarding Earnest were brought to the district's attention.

"There were some concerns and questions whether or not that school-level investigation was conducted properly and if the appropriate action was taken that needed to happen," district spokesman Lane Findlay previously told KSL.

"During the course of the investigation, Ms. Earnest decided to retire. Ms. Earnest has been working for Weber School District for over 30 years, and has earned her retirement benefits. As the investigation drew to a close, Ms. Earnest let the district know, through her attorney, that she will be retiring effective immediately," said the statement.

"Because Ms. Earnest chose to retire, there is nothing further for the district to do. The district wishes to thank Ms. Earnest for her 31 years of dedicated service as a teacher and school administrator in Weber School District," the statement continued.

Findlay added the district will be "extremely limited in being able to answer any follow-up questions because of Ms. Earnest's decision to retire and the nondisclosure agreement that was signed."

Now, the district says it will turn its attention to filling the vacant position of principal at Weber High School, with the statement saying "pending administrative changes are expected to take place at the school over the next couple of weeks."

Ryan Kachold, assistant principal at Weber High, has assumed the responsibilities of the principal in the meantime.

Fallout

During the investigation into Earnest and the Weber High Football program, the district in September fired Zac Connors, the team's offensive coordinator.

Findlay said the firing is "part of that bigger picture" related to the investigation. Connors, who was not a teacher or employee in the district, was what the district considers an "at-will employee," meaning they can be dismissed at any time.

During the investigation, the eligibility of two players who had been recruited to Weber High School from the Davis School District was questioned by someone in the district.

"That can really be a complaint that comes from anyone," Findlay said. "Anyone could raise that question (of eligibility) and file a complaint."

Utah High School Activities Association counsel Mark Van Wagoner said both student-athletes were found to be eligible by the association based on the paperwork they submitted prior to the start of the season, and they played in Weber's first game on Aug. 11.

"Weber made the claim that they had information pending to show that the applications made to the association were inaccurate," Van Wagoner said.

Sometime after the first game, the players were deemed ineligible for varsity competition amid the district's investigation into the situation. Both student-athletes have missed the last two games, but Van Wagoner said the association held a hearing at the end of August where a panel "decided unanimously that both students would be eligible and that both of their moves (to Weber High School) had been legitimate."

"This case is very different because Weber School District self-reported ... that they had played ineligible players because those players had not legitimately moved into Weber's boundaries," Van Wagoner said. "Weber self-reported that they weren't, even though they had been cleared by the activities association."

The eligibility investigation, however, is related but still separate from the investigation that determined a coach at Weber High "exercised undue influence in the recruitment of players."

Findlay said that the football program is anticipating sanctions that have been recommended to the Utah High School Activities Association by the Region 1 Board of Managers.

"We will await final review and a determination by UHSAA and then that will become official at that point," Findlay said.