Sutter Creek, CA…Dear Amador County Families and Community: On behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Amador County Unified School District, I am sending this notification to provide an update regarding the current situation with the Amador High School varsity football program.

On September 17, 2022, the District suspended the Amador High School varsity football team pending an administrative review of allegations concerning a highly inappropriate group chat thread involving the majority of the Amador High School varsity football team. The scope of the allegations escalated the need for an external investigation by an independent investigator, with some of the allegations being referred to law enforcement. Our initial estimate for this review is predicted to be a minimum of 30 days.

In order to comply and cooperate with the investigations taking place, we determined that the best course of action is to cancel the remainder of the Amador High School varsity football season. This decision is also to respect other teams in our league so they have time to make necessary changes to their football schedules. All Amador High School varsity football activities, practices, and conditioning are canceled. Additionally, any Amador High School varsity football team activities are not sanctioned, supervised, or sponsored by the District in any way.

The goal of this process is to obtain all the facts in this case in order to make accurate and sound decisions so that we can learn and grow from this situation and become better as a result of it. At the conclusion of the District’s investigation, we will release communications about our findings to the extent allowed by law. Please respect that our staff and students are entitled to privacy and due process, and we are very limited in what can be shared with the public.

This was an extremely difficult decision to make. As the Superintendent of Schools, it is ultimately my responsibility to address any alleged violations of law involving staff or students. Staff and students are entitled to a safe, welcoming, and nurturing environment. This is our opportunity to live our values and beliefs, and we must act.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we go through this important process.

Sincerely,
Torie F. Gibson, Ed.D. Superintendent, ACOE & ACUSD