12Th-Year Post Falls Athletic Director Submits Resignation
Post Falls High School athletic director Sherie Patano has resigned, effective at the end of the school year.
Patano will take a reassignment in the district. She will be a vice principal/activities coordinator at the middle school next year.
Her resignation comes as Post Falls prepares to move into its new school next fall.
“The No. 1 reason is I wanted a change,” said Patano, who’s in her 12th year as A.D. “There’s going to be a lot to do (at the middle school), but it’s not going to be quite as time-consuming.”
Patano said the change is an opportunity to scale back as she considers retirement in the next two or three years. Before becoming A.D., Patano was a head coach in three sports at Post Falls - volleyball, girls basketball and track.
Post Falls principal John Billetz said applications for the position will be accepted from inside and outside the district.
“I think Sherie was getting fed up with a lot of stuff that was going on. That’s the best way to term it,” Billetz said. “It was her decision. She could have stayed at the high school if she wanted to.”
Rumors have circulated that pressure has been on Billetz and Patano to fire some coaches. Billetz said there’s no basis for the speculation.
“I don’t know of any coaching changes right now that we’re going to make,” Billetz said. “I’m happy with our head coaches. We have people come to us all the time with concerns about coaches. That’s no different than any other school. There’s always somebody out there that has an issue with a coach, teacher or administrator. One of the challenges is to separate the realistic claims from those that aren’t.”
Patano said the timing of her resignation should afford her successor the opportunity to make a smooth transition to the new school.
“Quite honestly, it’s going to take an awful lot of work to get everything on board out there,” Patano said. “It’s a perfect time to get new blood in the school.”
Patano said she made her decision just before Christmas.
“An athletic director’s job is very hard and time-consuming,” Patano said. “I’ve reached the point where I don’t want to be gone 16 hours a day.”
Patano said she’ll miss dealing with her staff of coaches. She’s also enjoyed working with area administrators.