Copley High school administrator becomes new Hudson athletic director

by Judy Stringer

July 9 school board meeting

The Hudson Board of Education approved the hire of Michael Chuppa as the new athletic director at Hudson High School. He replaces Bryan Bedford, who stepped down earlier this year after becoming an assistant principal in the Brecksville-Broadview Heights City School District.

Chuppa has served as both an assistant principal and director of athletics at Copley High School since 2016, according to Hudson Superintendent Phil Herman. From 2014-2016, he was the athletic director at Copley-Fairlawn Middle School.

Before becoming an administrator, Chuppa was a social studies teacher and literacy teacher and served as the head baseball coach for Copley from 2008-2016 – being named the 2016 Suburban League Coach of the Year – and head football coach for Copley-Fairlawn Middle School from 2014-2016.

“Mike already has relationships with many Suburban League athletic directors and is a respected AD within the league,” said Herman, adding that Chuppa’s skill set and vision for the athletic department aligned with what the recruitment team defined when it began the hiring process.

Chuppa will be paid $92,000 annually under the two-year contract.

“I am extremely grateful and proud to be named athletic director of the Hudson City School District,” the Nordonia High School graduate said in a statement released after the meeting. “I look forward to building on the tradition of excellence that has been established throughout the district, while creating an athletic culture rooted in the development of our student athletes outside of the classroom.”

The list of personnel items approved by the board included the resignation of Andrew Shonk, Hudson’s assistant network manager, who was arrested in July for having naked pictures of students from the Rootstown school district, where he worked as a technology specialist from 2006 until 2012. In a phone blast to parents, Herman said, “It goes without saying that we are disturbed and disgusted by the allegations.”

In the message, Herman said the district immediately placed Shonk on leave when it learned of the investigation into these charges. Shonk, Herman said, “subsequently resigned.”

“We also blocked Mr. Shonk’s access to district information systems, buildings and offsite events,” he said.

Herman also said the FBI told the district it had not found any exploitative materials involving Hudson students, although the former technology staffer did have photographs from social media sites of some Hudson students.

The board agreed to a one-year retire-hire contract with high school English teacher Christine Radie. Herman said Radie will work one-third of a full-time position and be paid $20,213 for the upcoming school year, noting that this was a unique case in which Hudson would have had difficulty finding candidates as qualified as Radie, given that the position is not full time.

The board agreed to two new extracurricular positions at the high school. Beginning this school year, advisers for Our Time to Shine and Sparkle Cheer will be paid. Herman said both programs, active for a number of years as clubs, provide opportunities for special needs students to interact with their peers. Our Time to Shine is a drama program that produces two student productions. Sparkle Cheer is a cheerleading group.

Like all supplemental contracts, the pay will be based on a percentage of the adviser’s teaching salary, he said.

Human Resource Director Lisa Hunt told the board her department is working with high school and middle school administrators to evaluate clubs in terms of participation and supplemental contracts. She expects to have information to report in the next couple of months.