A year after being removed from his longtime coaching job, Phil Shar returned to the gym this week with the West Mifflin Area High School girls basketball team.

The school board voted last Thursday to reinstate Mr. Shar, who is now a West Mifflin Area school director, as the girls coach; he returned to directing open gyms and practices this week.

"I'm just happy to be back," Mr. Shar said following the vote, from which he abstained. "I have to get caught up on what's going on."

It was in May 2009 that Mr. Shar lost his coaching job of 19 years after sparring verbally with former superintendent Patrick Risha.

Mr. Shar had appeared at school board meetings criticizing Mr. Risha's plans to build a new middle school on the high school campus, the district's preliminary budget and a clause in the new teachers contract that gave first opportunity for all extra-duty positions, including coaching, to teachers.

After Mr. Shar made disparaging remarks about the superintendent in local newspapers, Mr. Risha opened his contract, saying at the time: "I cannot let any employee do what he did in the newspapers."

A month later, Mr. Risha received the support of the board majority, which voted 5-4 to replace Mr. Shar with one of his former assistants.

But that was far from the end of the dispute between Mr. Risha and Mr. Shar.

Mr. Shar launched a write-in campaign for school board and won, beating incumbent Diana Olasz and creating a new board majority. Shortly afterward, Mr. Risha retired abruptly with two years remaining on his contract.

Then in December, Mr. Shar filed a federal lawsuit against the district claiming that his First Amendment right to free speech had been violated by the district's actions. He asked for compensatory damages and to be reinstated to his job.

He got both.

Earlier this month, a financial settlement was reached between Mr. Shar and the district for $30,000. The amount was outlined in a settlement document the district released under the state Right to Know law, but the settlement has a confidentiality clause that prohibits either side from discussing it.

As a result, district officials and Mr. Shar said they could not say if his return as coach was part of the settlement. He will coach as a volunteer and receive no coaching stipend.

Voting in favor of reinstating Mr. Shar to his coaching position were school Directors Nick Alexandroff, Ted Cale, Michael Price, John Donis and Richard Fialkovich. School director Kathy Bracco voted against the action, and school Director Ned Mervos said he abstained "due to legal action." School Director Albert Graham was absent.

It appears there are lingering questions about whether Mr. Shar can serve as a coach while also serving as school director and whether his reinstatement violates the clause in the teachers contract that gives first opportunity to qualified teachers.

At the time Mr. Shar's suit was filed, Stuart Knade, chief counsel for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, said even if Mr. Shar was successful in his litigation, Section 324 of the state school code would prevent him from coaching while he is still a school director.

Mr. Knade said the section stipulates that "you cannot be employed by the school district in any capacity until after the expiration of your term of office regardless of if you resign."

Mr. Knade said that meant Mr. Shar could not return to coaching until the expiration of his four-year term.

But Mr. Shar said he has received legal opinions that indicate he can serve as a volunteer coach while holding a seat on the board.

District solicitor Jack Cambest said he has given his legal opinion on the issue to the board in executive session but did not want to reveal it publicly because it is a personnel matter.

As for any action by the teachers union, President Tom Ruffing said the union's lawyers are investigating. Mr. Ruffing said Mr. Shar's coaching position was supposed to be grandfathered into the teacher's contract until 2012.

But Mr. Ruffing said the union's attorneys are researching to see if any parts of the collective bargaining agreement or school code have been violated by Mr. Shar's reinstatement.

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