It's not often students get applauded for ditching class, but Friday morning, a couple dozen parents lined up across from Staples High School to support a student-led walkout and rally for fired boys varsity soccer head coach Russell Oost-Lievense. It came four days after the Westport Board of Education affirmed Oost-Lievense’s dismissal.

“He is a good man. He is a good mentor. He stands up to bullies. And that's what our kids are trying to do right now,” said Stephen Shackleford, whose son is a junior on the team and helped organize the protest.

Dylan Shackleford was among the student-athletes who addressed the crowd with a megaphone.

“Not only was Coach Russ betrayed on Monday night, but so was the entire Westport community. And with this shocking decision, all of us are thinking, who’s next? Under this administration, it could be anyone,” Dylan Shackleford said.

Merri Mueller watched the demonstration with the other adults across the street. Mueller’s two sons are now in college, but both played for Oost-Lievense, so she didn’t hesitate to show her solidarity with the students.

“I'm so proud of them. I think it's amazing that the kids feel confident that they have a voice and that they can be heard,” Mueller told News 12.

Students chanted for the ousting of district officials including Staples Athletic Director VJ Sarullo and Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice, while calling for the reinstatement of Oost-Lievense. The popular longtime coach grew up in Westport and attended Staples High School, graduating in 2008.

“All he cares about is these kids. He cares about this town because this is where he's from. He played soccer here, and he is being treated very, very badly,” Mueller said.

On Monday, the Board of Education voted 5 to 1 to uphold the superintendent's decision not to renew the popular coach's contract. It followed a 14-hour hearing at Town Hall that focused on the reason behind it—a verbal disagreement, that included swearing between a player and an assistant coach during a team retreat in August.

“A coach lost his temper and yelled at a kid. It was over within seconds. The two of them apologized to each other. They made up. They apologized to the boys who were assembled and that's it. What they then fired Coach Russ for was, even though he dealt with the situation perfectly, they fired him for not reporting it to the athletic director, ” Stephen Shackleford explained, calling it an arbitrary decision based on past incidents. “When Russ reported much more serious misconduct, bullying on the team two years earlier, the administration told him, ‘Go handle it on your own.’”

But someone else did report the pre-season incident to Sarullo anonymously in late October, leading to Oost-Lievense being suspended, along with two other coaches, while an investigation was conducted.

Monday's special meeting featured hours of testimony from Scarice, Sarullo and Staples High School principal Stafford Thomas about what exactly that entailed.

“We found out that investigation was a sham,” said Stephen Shackleford, who sat through the marathon hearing.

The revelations included that not one student who was at the retreat was ever interviewed.

Still, at the end of the night, the school board backed the superintendent with board member Robert Harrington as the lone dissenter. Kevin Christie recused himself, but it’s unclear the reason.

At Thursday’s regular board meeting, a couple members defended their vote before moving on to the night’s agenda.

Vice Chair Dorie Hordon told the crowd there was ample evidence that backed non-renewal.

“The task before members of the Board of Education was to determine if the decision made by the administration was made in an arbitrary and capricious manner,” Hordon stated, adding that it was clear to her it wasn’t. “Working with our children, whether as a coach, teacher or some other capacity is a privilege, not a right. “In making these hirings, the administration of Westport Public Schools must always prioritize the safety and well-being of our students. It is ultimately up to the administration to use their best judgement to decide who gets assigned these important jobs.”

Member Jill Dillon echoed that, saying the decision was appropriate and that the board’s charge was very narrow.

“I just want to acknowledge that it was an incredibly hard and painful decision and not one that was made lightly. And it's been a very heavy for all of us,” Dillon said.

Harrington also spoke, saying he would not stay silent about the administration’s failure to carry out a thorough investigation, leading to Oost-Lievense’s termination. He also called on the athletic director to step down.

“I do think that the wrong person lost their job, and I don't say this lightly,” Harrington stated. “It's important to bring the Staples athletic community together, and I'm not confident that can happen with VJ in his current post.”

Several community members used the public comment time to also share their lack of confidence in the administration.

“On Monday night, you told this community that their voices didn't matter—that integrity, transparency and fair play didn't matter,” said James Lothrop. “What was the purpose if the outcome was predetermined? Or community deserves genuine engagement and thoughtful decision making, not just formality. Did the superintendent and his administration’s lack of an investigation not concern you? Did the lack of student interviews not give you pause? Did the number of students, student athletes, parents and community members there in support of the coaches not make you question the one-sided narrative?”

Joan Gillman said she was one of eight witnesses who was prevented from speaking at the hearing.

“I'm so extraordinarily disappointed with the members of the Board of Education who did not run a fair process,” Gillman stated. “What were you afraid of?”

Stephanie Moore railed against top district officials.

“I had no idea this was the community running my kids’ schools. All three of my kids went through these schools. You are not equipped. You are not fair-minded. And you lack the integrity to be an example for our children,” Moore told the board.

Stephen Shackleford told the board this issue “is absolutely not going away.”

He echoed that to News 12 at the walkout Friday.

“I'm hoping somebody acts like an adult here and realizes, ‘You know what? We messed up. We're going to reinstate the coach, and we're going to put in place policies and procedures, so this never happens again,” Stephen Shackford said.

“Hopefully, some good will out of this,” said Mueller.

News 12 reached out to Scarice and Thomas for comment on the walkout but did not hear back.