Former swim coach at Chicago high school illicitly rented pool to outside groups
A swim coach at a Chicago high school, who previously was disciplined for an arrangement allowing his private swim club to rent the pool at “for little to no cost,” also pocketed nearly $30,000 from improper side deals to lease the pool to three other outside groups, according to a new watchdog report.
CBS 2 Chicago reports that from April 2013 through September 2016, Whitney Young High School swim coach Andy Parro collected at least $29,604 from three outside groups through “off-the-books agreements” and kept the money for himself, even though he had no authority to rent out pool time at all.
The allegations are included in the latest annual report from Chicago Public Schools Inspector General Nicholas Schuler.
The report does not name the school or Parro, but a 2016 CBS 2 report spelled out allegations against Parro involving improper use of the Whitney Young pool.
Parro has been charged with four felony counts of theft, and one felony count of official misconduct, according to Schuler’s office and Cook County court records.
In 2016, Parro and his club were suspended from doing business with the district after Schuler’s office found that from 2014 to 2016, the coach had been renting the Whitney Young pool for his private club for only $1.20 per hour. The inspector general estimated the arrangement cost the school between $96,301.70 and $582,504.20 in rent it should have charged.
Since then, the inspector general’s office received new complaints that Parro had been improperly subletting his swim club’s lease, and that he was still engaging in business with the school even after the school board had moved to bar him from doing so.
Schuler’s office determined Parro had made several arrangements to lease the Whitney Young swimming pool to outside groups, collecting at least $29,604 from three groups between April 2013 and September 2016. The inspector general found that money was never turned over to the school, as it should have been.
“In fact, the school clerk did not even know that any outside groups had rented the pool, other than the coach’s club team. Accordingly, the [Inspector General] found that the coach essentially stole the nearly $30,000 in rental fees (and possibly more) he collected by pocketing those funds for himself, rather than turning them over to the school as he should have done,” the report stated.
Schuler’s office says the principal and assistant principal at Whitney Young either knew or should have known about Parro’s improper side deals to lease the pool.
The principal and assistant principal also were reprimanded after the previous investigation of Parro, and put on notice of his questionable practices, according to Schuler’s office.
In addition, even after the board suspended Parro and his club from doing business with the district, Parro tried to circumvent that decision by trying to merge his club with a competing swim club, essentially continuing to use the Whitney Young swimming pool under another name.
Parro has been charged with four felony counts of theft, and one felony count of official misconduct, according to Schuler’s office and Cook County court records. His next court date is set for Jan. 29.
Schuler’s office had planned to recommend that Parro be fired, but he resigned before the report was issued. The district already has placed him on its “do not hire” list.
MORE. YouTube video from CBS 2 Chicago:
