A Cincinnati school board member is now coaching track. Is that a conflict

Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education member Mary Wineberg is highly qualified to coach track and field at Walnut Hills High School. She is an Olympic gold medalist, after all.

In 2008, Wineberg ran the first leg of the 4×400 meter relay race that won Team USA the gold at the Beijing Olympics.

Gold in the Queen City: Cincinnati has long history of producing successful Olympians

But does her new position as head track and field coach at Walnut Hills pose a conflict of interest to her work on the school board?

She doesn’t think so. And as long as she doesn’t get paid for her coaching duties, it’s not against Ohio law.

Mary Wineberg has served on the Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education since 2022. She was board vice president in 2024.

“There is no conflict of interest. I am doing the job as a volunteer,” Wineberg wrote in an email to The Enquirer. She said she won’t be paid for coaching and that she’ll abstain from voting on any school board matters regarding athletics at Walnut Hills.

“I can still fulfill my requirements as a school board member, volunteer coach, parent, community member, advocate, etc.,” Wineberg said.

School board members can coach for free

School board members cannot be employed by the district they serve, according to Ohio law. But they can volunteer to coach extracurricular activities as long as they aren’t getting paid, according to the Ohio School Boards Association.

John Price, a staff attorney with the association, wouldn’t comment on Wineberg’s specific situation. But he did say that school board members who volunteer to coach within their district may run into roadblocks.

“It may restrict their ability as a board member to take actions on certain matters that affect the athletic department,” Price wrote in an email to The Enquirer.

Who is Mary Wineberg?

Wineberg graduated from Walnut Hills in 1998 and attended University of Cincinnati where she competed in track and earned a degree in education.

She competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing where she was part of the women’s relay team that won gold.

Mary Wineberg won the gold in the 4x400 meter race in Beijing 2008. She poses here with Duke Ragan, who won the silver medal in Boxing's featherweight division and David Payne, who won the silver medal in the 110 Hurdle in Beijing 2008, during a celebration of Duke Ragan's Olympic accomplishment at Fountain Square in 2021. — Mary Wineberg won the gold in the 4×400 meter race in Beijing 2008. She poses here with Duke Ragan, who won the silver medal in Boxing’s featherweight division and David Payne, who won the silver medal in the 110 Hurdle in Beijing 2008, during a celebration of Duke Ragan’s Olympic accomplishment at Fountain Square in 2021.

Wineberg taught elementary students at Cincinnati Public Schools for 11 years before she became a school board member, according to her biography on the district’s website.

More in U.S.

She was sworn in as a school board member in 2022 and served as board vice president in 2024. While serving on the school board, Wineberg has worked as the board’s liaison with the Ohio High School Athletic Association. It is OK for Wineberg to continue as the liaison while coaching for one of the district’s schools, Tim Stried, spokesperson for the association, confirmed on Monday.

Wineberg’s school board term expires at the end of 2025.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Can school board members coach sports in the district they serve?

EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel