'It's not personal': New Belgrade AD braces for backlash after predecessor's ousting

The Belgrade School District has confirmed Scott Palmer as the new activities director, and he’s not expecting an easy welcome.

“You’re going to have people really supportive and excited for you, and you’re going to have the other side,” Palmer said. “I’ll just have to take each day one at a time.”

With 20 years of coaching experience, and more than a decade as a track coach and math teacher in Belgrade schools, Palmer is already a familiar face in the district. But his promotion follows a wave of confusion and outrage from the community after the former activities director, Toby Robinson, was suddenly reassigned to a middle school physical education role in May.

“I candidly have no idea what happened or what has transpired at all or what criteria or rationale the super and assistant (superintendent) have used to make this move,” boys soccer coach Robert Lemley told the Belgrade News previously. “But I think I can kind of speak for the majority of coaches that this came as a huge shock to all of us.”

Citing privacy, Belgrade Superintendent Dede Semerad declined to provide a reason for Robinson’s removal from the AD role. Robinson has not spoken publicly since.

“There’s not a whole lot I can comment on that,” Palmer said.

“Toby is a great guy. He established a lot of connections with the kids and he was very involved in the athletics. Replacing that component of him is going to be an uphill task.”

That’s not the only hill Palmer is bracing for. Beyond confusion from Robinson’s colleagues, a group of parents flooded a May 18 school board meeting to call for Robinson’s reinstatement.

“As you can see, there are many people here to advocate for our AD, and to let you know that the decision to demote him was not a sound decision,” one parent said. “You will never meet a person who cares more for our kids and works harder outside of his job description for the better of our schools.”

Despite the urging of many parents, Robinson was ultimately not reinstated. Palmer knows the role is still shaped by his predecessor’s shadow.

“I went in knowing that there’s going to be some people with hard feelings toward whoever got the job,” Palmer said. “You have to be willing to accept those, know where they’re coming from and know it’s not personal.”

But Palmer said his years of professional and athletic experience have prepared him to receive sharp criticism.

“I’ve been coaching and teaching in this district for so long. I own and operate a landscaping company as well,” he said. “So getting my butt chewed by somebody won’t be the first time.”

Shifting from daily interactions with students and athletes to an administrative role, Palmer said, is bittersweet.

“It’s a win when you have a kid you taught come back several years later and talk about the impact you made on their life,” Palmer said. “Belgrade is fortunate that our AD position is in the building, so I think there’s still opportunities to establish those relationships with the kids.”

The role comes with a steep learning curve, but Palmer doesn’t have time to ease in. He was confirmed June 8 and immediately has summer work ahead of him, meeting with coaches, checking equipment needs and locking in early-season schedules.

“We want to make sure when we start the school year we start on a good foot and continue walking down the path of success,” Palmer said.