Greg Perry resigns as Keystone Oaks football coach citing pay for assistants

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, January 5, 2022 | 11:07 PM

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Greg Perry resigned as football coach at his alma mater Keystone Oaks, citing a union contract decision that reduced money available for his assistant coaches.

Perry went 45-34 in eight seasons.

“I quit because in the spring, the school board and the (Keystone Oaks Education Association) decided on a contract that was very detrimental to athletics,” said Perry, who resigned Wednesday. “That’s something that I don’t believe in. I believe that athletics is an integral part of high school development for kids.”

The collective bargaining agreement approved last year included a “Five Star System” for determining pay for coaches. Perry said the policy reduced the pool of money available for football by more than $10,000, forcing him to eliminate spots or replace assistants already on his staff.

“Technically, I lost close to two positions,” Perry said. “Or, you have to get rid of people already on your staff and then bring someone else in (for less money).

“That’s not something you do.”

In a statement, district spokesperson Sarah Welch said the Five Star System “is used to calculate the stipends for all coaches and sponsors for all approved clubs and activity positions. This was agreed upon by both parties and was intended to establish equity in the amount of money that is allocated for all of the District’s extracurricular activities.”

Advisors for marching band and school musicals were included in the new formula.

The football team reached the playoffs four times in Perry’s eight seasons and twice reached the WPIAL semifinals. The Eagles went 6-6 this past season and made the quarterfinals.

The 1979 Keystone Oaks graduate returned to his alma mater in 2014 after two decades at Seton LaSalle, which is directly across the street from KO. Perry went 73-24 in nine seasons as Seton LaSalle’s head coach.

“It’s tough leaving my alma mater,” he said. “I went to school there. My kids went to school there. My mother sent eight kids through there.”

The team went 4-14 combined in the two years before Perry took over the program. Yet, the Eagles had only one losing season under Perry, his first at KO.

They reached the WPIAL semifinals in 2016 and ‘20.

“Greg did an awesome job with the program,” Keystone Oaks athletic director Mark Elphinstone said. “He brought it back. Just having an alumnus doing the job he did, to see people coming back to the games, it was great.”

Perry said he plans to coach somewhere next fall but predicted it will feel strange driving in a new direction.

“For 28 years, I drove down McNeilly Road,” he said. “For 20 years, I made a left. The last eight years, I made a right.”

Perry said the union contract affected coaches in all sports, not just football. He said the money available for high school and middle school football assistants declined from $41,600 to $30,500.

“They have the right,” Perry said. “I understand that. But there are also some things that you’ve got to stand up for, too.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Keystone Oaks