Former Huskies Football Coach Gets Jail Time

November 20, 2021

Former Cardinal Huskies football coach George Gresko was sentenced to seven days in jail Nov. 15 after previously pleading guilty to tampering with records, a first-degree misdemeanor.

Geauga County Common Pleas Court Judge Carolyn Paschke also sentenced Gresko to one-year probation and ordered him to perform either 50 hours of community service or pay a $1,000 fine.

“I made a terrible mistake and I broke the law. I am very sorry for my actions. I accept responsibility,” Gresko told Paschke, reading from a prepared statement. “I was a role model for students and I let them down. I let down the school and the entire community that I loved so much.”

Gresko, who previously had been an assistant coach at Kenston Schools and was licensed through the Ohio Department of Education as a paraprofessional, said over the past 10 years, he has coached and had an impact on hundreds of students.

“The best part of working with the student-athletes is to watch them grow into young adults and achieve their goals and dreams,” he said. “All my scholars know that I love each and every one of them and they know that I will always be there for them no matter what.

“I am grateful for the wonderful people I met in the Cardinal community and the memories and bonds that will last a lifetime. I am a good man with a huge heart and I am sorry that I let so many people down.”

Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz said it was refreshing Gresko finally accepted responsibility for his criminal acts.

“We requested seven days in jail because we felt that the amount of resources expended investigating this matter due to the defendant continually lying about what he had done warranted some period of incarceration,” Flaiz said. “We are pleased that Judge Paschke agreed with our position and sent Mr. Gresko to the county jail today.”

Gresko, who also occupied the position of district student success coach/alternative placement supervisor, was fired June 30 after an investigation revealed he had changed and added to students’ grades without authorization.

“Specifically, based on the school district’s review of various students’ grades over the past few months (i.e. between December 2020 through March 2021), it appears that you have accessed the electronic files of students who are assigned to you and have either changed their grades by increasing their previous scores or provided them with additional credit for work that was not completed in order to enhance their scores,” Cardinal Schools Superintendent Bill Kermavner wrote in a June 9 letter to Gresko notifying him of his pre-termination hearing.

Kermavner previously had told the Geauga County Maple Leaf that an “improvement plan” had been put in place earlier this year related to Gresko’s job performance, and acknowledged Gresko had an “incentive or motive” to improve students’ academic performance.

Despite being given an opportunity to resign and being presented with the evidence Middlefield Village Police Department and the county prosecutor’s office had collected against him, Gresko repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

About a dozen parents and visitors spoke up at a June 9 Cardinal Schools Board of Education meeting in support of Gresko, with some verbally attacking board members for conducting a “witch hunt” and demanding answers on why Gresko would not be returning to the sidelines. Other parents credited him with an increase in turnout for the football team and for being a positive role model in their children’s life.

On June 23, a Geauga County grand jury indicted Gresko on felony charges of tampering with records and unauthorized use of a computer. He initially pleaded not guilty to all charges and faced up to 48 months in jail and fines of up to $12,500, if convicted on both counts.

However, on Sept. 7, he entered a change of plea, agreeing to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of tampering with records.