DARRINGTON — An assistant wrestling coach has been suspended from his coaching duties pending a school district investigation into an altercation with a student.
Darrington School Board President Julie Kuntz said that while Ray Franke’s coaching duties are suspended for now, Franke has not been disciplined and remains in his classroom at Darrington High School.
Franke allegedly knocked the ball cap off a Darrington wrestler who Franke had reprimanded for chewing tobacco. Witnesses called the police. The confrontation happened outside the Concrete High School gym where Darrington wrestlers were participating in a tournament Feb. 5.
Franke was cited in Concrete by a Skagit County sheriff’s deputy on a charge of fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor which was filed Monday in Skagit County District Court.
Reynolds Burton Attorneys of Enumclaw is the firm conducting an investigation for the school district, Kuntz said.
“Ray Franke has been at Darrington for more than 20 years. He is a beloved coach and teacher,” Kuntz said. “However, we cannot belittle what this student is saying. That’s why we need a third party to handle this swiftly and to an agreeable conclusion.”
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
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