PANAMA CITY — The Gulf Coast State College Board of Trustees on Thursday approved a recommendation for the non-renewal of contracts for head softball coach Susan Painter and assistant Ryann Ellingsworth.
The decision stemmed from an internal investigation conducted by the school that revealed alleged theft/grand theft of $5,000-$10,000 by Painter and Ellingsworth. The Bay County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation into the matter, which was reported to the department on Monday by the school’s Director of Security, David Thomasee.
(Click here to read the BCSO incident report)
The coaches were placed on paid administrative leave on April 11. GC will immediately advertise for a new softball coaching staff.
Outgoing GC President Dr. Jim Kerley said the internal investigation was completed and findings were turned over to the BCSO. Kerley wouldn’t elaborate on the potential legal nature of the investigation and added the findings would be released when the BCSO finishes its investigation. He said student-athletes and Painter and Ellingsworth were interviewed about the matter, which surfaced this season.
He said there was sufficient cause to recommend the non-renewal of the annual contracts for both coaches.
“We felt it was in the best interest to go with the non-renewal,” Kerley said. “They (the BCSO) feel like we did a good job internally. We felt there was information that should be checked out.
“I can’t speak for them, but I think they’ll work through it fairly quickly.”
Painter, 52, was 895-335 at GC since 1995, the first year of fast-pitch at the school. She led the Lady Commodores to six Panhandle Conference titles, three state titles and three runner-up finishes at the national tournament.
Ellingsworth, 32, was in her second season as an assistant at GC. She also was a former player at the school.
Charity Butler, who was an assistant under Painter in 2013, led the Lady Commodores for the final 10 games of the season. GC finished 28-33 for its first losing season in program history.
Painter didn’t respond to multiple messages on Friday. An attorney who contacted The News Herald in April on Painter’s behalf, Steve Andrews of Tallahassee, was unavailable on Friday.
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