Gunter ISD trustees took their superintendent’s recommendation to oust head baseball coach Daryl Hellman for what the district previously described as “inappropriate comments.”
During a school board meeting Monday night, Gunter Independent School District’s elected trustees unanimously agreed to initiate the process of terminating Hellman’s contract “for good cause.”
“It was not an easy decision, but the focus is always on the safety of the students,” said Trustee Scott Meyerdirk just prior to the vote.
No other information about the decision was publicly discussed, and the district has not released any details about the nature of the comments that prompted Hellman’s firing.
Hellman had been on paid administrative leave while district officials investigated the allegations.
Gunter ISD Superintendent Brandon Enos stated on September 1 that the district had completed its investigation into “allegations of inappropriate comments made by Coach Hellman.”
Based on the results, Enos recommended that trustees terminate Hellman’s contract.
Enos also said the district had notified parents, law enforcement, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, and the Texas Education Agency about the allegations against Hellman, out of “an abundance of caution.”
Only one parent spoke during public comments at Monday night’s meeting.
Baseball dad Jake Ivey defended Hellman and asked trustees to “tap the brakes and do an independent investigation … not the internal witch hunt we have going on.”
Following discussion in closed session, trustees voted 7-0 to send Hellman a notice of intent to terminate his contract mid-year.
Such notification is required by Texas law. Hellman will have 15 days after receiving the notice to request an administrative hearing to challenge the trustees’ decision.
No charges have been filed against Hellman, and his teaching credentials are not currently under review by the TEA.
Hellman received a lifetime certification to teach physical education in 1994. He was certified to teach biology in 2000 and currently holds additional certificates to teach health and business and to serve as a principal.
Gunter ISD hired Hellman in 2018 and named him Gunter High School’s head baseball coach in 2021. He previously taught and coached in Pilot Point ISD, Aubrey ISD, Celina ISD, and Lake Dallas ISD.
The district has not yet named a new head baseball coach.
Superintendent Enos was hired by Gunter ISD in the summer of 2025. He was previously superintendent of Cushing ISD and held administrative positions in Goliad ISD and Kermit ISD.
In April, Enos was featured in a “leader spotlight” article by the Texas Association of School Administrators, an organization that advocates for more government funding and less state oversight of public education. TASA also offers corporate partners, who sell products and services to school districts, “exclusive opportunities” to connect with school leaders who make purchasing decisions.
Gunter ISD’s previous superintendent, Jill Siler, resigned to take a deputy executive director position with TASA, which she still holds.
Enos also chairs the Texas Rural Education Association’s Legislative Committee. TREA lobbies the legislature for policies favorable to small school districts like Gunter ISD, which announced Monday an enrollment of 1,245 students.
In that role, Enos has penned several editorials on public education in Texas, most recently suggesting that extracurriculars including athletics be incorporated into school districts’ A-F accountability ratings, which are designed to assess academic achievement.
In a June op-ed titled “Putting Students Before Politics,” Enos criticized provisions of the new educator misconduct reporting law known as Senate Bill 571 as “suffocating administrative red tape.”
In the same article, Enos objected to new requirements for obtaining parental consent prior to counseling students and suggested that smaller school districts should be exempt from “well-meaning ethics laws” that prohibit school boards from contracting with businesses owned by board members or their families.
Gunter ISD is a B-rated district with three schools, located in Grayson County.
Questions and concerns can be directed to Superintendent Enos or Gunter ISD board members.
