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Two administrators at Hinton High school resign

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March 6th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa school district at the center of an assault investigation involving its high school wrestling team, is losing two administrators. The Hinton School Board accepted the resignations last night (Tuesday night) of middle and high school principal Phil Goetstouwers and athletic director Brian DeJong, who is also an elementary school principal. No reasons were given for the resignations that are effective at the end of the school year.

The Coralville Police Department launched an investigation after wrestlers said older teammates tasered them at a hotel during a wrestling tournament last month. A video circulating on social media showed a wrestler being held down on a bed during the attack. A police spokesperson says additional information will likely not be released because all involved are juveniles.

Several parents attended the meeting on Tuesday night. (IPR photo by Sheila Brummer)

The public wasn’t allowed to speak at the special meeting, but afterward, one woman who identified herself by only her initials, D-H, says her son was one of seven freshmen targeted.  “There’s still a lot of people who need to be held accountable where we don’t have answers,” she says. The woman says more information will be coming out. “A lot of things have been unraveling more and more. It’s going to hit the Hinton community hard. It’s going to be getting worse before it gets better,” She says.

Hinton’s head wrestling coach is still on administrative leave. Parents say he is being allowed to teach math.