Spagnoli Status Uncertain For 2025 Season
Longtime Scouts coach wants to return but has yet to hear from district officials
Chuck Spagnoli, the all-time winningest football coach in Lake Forest High School history, has not been informed he can coach the Scouts for the 2025 season.
Spagnoli has told assistant coaches and others he does want to return for what would be his 23rd season as head coach this fall. The question is whether the school wants him back.
First hired by the district as a teacher and coach in 2003, Spagnoli plans to retire from teaching later this spring after the 2024-25 school year. That retirement appears to be what’s complicating decision-making regarding his continuing status as head football coach.
Some background: In 2023, LFHS teachers signed a new collective bargaining agreement with District 115, the district that houses Lake Forest High School. The agreement states the district must notify non-renewal of fall coaches for the year ahead by January 15. That time frame has passed without any resolution with Spagnoli. That’s not necessarily an unusual occurrence. What’s different this time around is Spagnoli’s future as a teacher with the school.
Education experts recommend at minimum a timeline of six months for teachers to notify their employer of plans to retire, according to the Teacher’s Retirement System, the organization that manages teacher’s retirement plans for the state. It’s more common, though, for public school teachers in Illinois to begin the process of retirement well before six months, often years in advance. This is to help ensure all necessary paperwork is completed and to allow enough time for districts to hire a replacement. It’s my understanding Spagnoli, a wellness teacher at LFHS, began his retirement process with the state as long as four years ago. District officials have had ample time to prepare for his departure as an educator.
While retiring from the classroom, Spagnoli has no intention to step down as head football coach, a position he’s held since 2003, the same year he was hired as a teacher. Now this is where things get murky.
According to the Teacher’s Retirement System, there’s a required 30-day “break-in” period before a retired teacher can be rehired by the same employer. For example, if a teacher’s retirement date is June 1, they could be rehired as soon as July 1. That timeline would set up well in Spagnoli’s case as the last day of school is typically in early June. Technically a fall sport, football practices often don’t begin until early July, so a 30-day break-in time for a newly retired Spagnoli would be of no concern and he’d be able to coach the Scouts as he would any other year.
The problem is the district has its own time duration policy before rehiring retired teachers. That timeframe is six months. I’ve been told the six month window is an “unwritten rule,” specific to D115, not collectively bargained or a statewide directive. If enforced, Spagnoli would have to miss the entire 2025 season as the break-in period beginning in June would not expire until December, after the season ends.
Although they have yet to communicate their thinking, D115 administrators are left with plenty of options in regards to Spagnoli. They could waive the six-month rule, default to the 30-day TRS policy, come up with new grounds for bringing Spagnoli back or if they want to hire a new coach, wait to see what teaching positions become available before posting the job. As of this writing, the district has not informed him of its plans.
Unlike many Chicagoland districts, D115 does not require head athletic coaches to be full-time teachers with the school.
New Trier Township High School District 203, for instance, mandates its head coaches be employed by the district and “in the building,” so to speak, during the day. At Lake Forest, the head coaches for boy’s lacrosse, baseball as well as the girl’s soccer head coach are not “in the building” during the day as D115 teachers. Those head coaches, along with others, hold jobs outside the school and coach after hours.
So knowing all of this, it’s unclear why administrators are dragging their feet on Spagnoli’s coaching future with the school.
It can’t be concerns over his coaching abilities. Last year, the team went 9-3 and made the quarterfinal round of the Class 6A playoffs. Spagnoli has won 135 games in 22 seasons as coach, the most in school history. It can’t be concerns over his ethics or character as Spagnoli remains extremely popular with players and parents and puts in countless hours not only coaching the team, but running the program behind the scenes. There are few public school coaches in the area who work as tirelessly as Spagnoli, whose energy level far exceeds his age (early 60s). Upon retirement from teaching, he could conceivably spend more time with the program and players while mentoring many of the young coaches on staff.
If the reason administrators are avoiding a resolution is concern over the “unwritten” six-month break-in policy, then waive the rule. He’s well worth it.
The Scouts have started off-season workouts in preparation for the 2025 season. Spagnoli is attending the workouts and is operating as if he’s the head football coach. As of this month, he hasn’t been told otherwise. But he also hasn’t had dialogue with district officials about his status moving forward.
The Scouts football community can only hope a conversation happens sooner rather than later.
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