Lonergan Dismissal Upheld

By Benjamin Cox on December 12, 2019 at 5:27am

The dismissal of Routt/Our Saviour’s baseball Coach Bob Lonnergan will stand. The Routt Catholic School Board announced the decision last night at their monthly board meeting. The initial decision, late last month, was met with significant push back from Routt/Our Saviour’s parents and students – including a community petition.

According to a statement released by the Diocese of Springfield after the meeting, the school board and diocesan officials met and discussed the decision and ultimately decided to uphold the dismissal. The Diocese said that the decision was “due to a variety of personnel issues, including persistent violations of social media policies.” Lonnergan told KHQA in Quincy that his coaching technique of accountability and work ethic were “too old school” for some at the schools.

Lonergan has been head coach at Routt since 2006. He led the Rockets to a state championship in 2007. Lonergan’s teams have won 20 or more games in 10 of his 13 seasons as head coach. He also coached the junior high baseball team at Our Saviour. The Shamrocks played for a state championship this fall, losing to Champaign St. Matthew in the title game. OSS finished with a record of 20-2. The schools will now be looking to find a replacement.