Residents in a suburban Illinois school district aren’t very happy with school officials that decided to give a high school football coach a sweet deal on a home rental. FOX 32 News reported earlier this week, that the Lincoln Way High School District 210 rented a two-bedroom house it owned to Lincoln-Way West head coach Dave Ernst, who earned $110,000 per year, for only $500 per month.
Ernst reportedly moved out of the house last month when an investigation by parents led to the uncovering of what seems to be a below-market rental deal for the football coach. The FOX 32 story states that similar homes in New Lenox could fetch as much as $1,550 per month.
FOX 32 reports that the lease was a handshake deal and there is no paperwork to support what Ernst was paying for the home.
In a statement to FOX 32, a district spokesperson said, “The anger and frustrations that many citizens are experiencing is understandable, as there are a number of instances when the district could have done things differently… The district is currently borrowing $30 million dollars to operate, and this board and administration is committed to stabilizing the finances of the district.”
The Lincoln Way School District is currently in the process of closing Lincoln-Way North High School, one of four high schools in the district, because of money troubles and declining enrollment.
