Rafferty Support Grows, Coach Job Opening Posted

School officials still have not spoken about the firing of North Andover Football Coach John Rafferty last week, but their silence has not cooled down the reaction.

Rafferty was fired Friday and it's been reportedly said it was because he didn't follow protocol when he disciplined two students this past fall.

As of Tuesday night, the Support Coach Rafferty Facebook page has attracted more than 500 followers. Monday night, there was a petition set up at Stachey's for people to sign to show their support for the coach, and that petition reportedly garnered more than 500 signatures.

And there is talk of parents and students going to the School Committee meeting to voice frustration over the coach's firing.

Will the effort make a difference? It's hard to tell. And this week, there is a new job posting online for the North Andover Varsity Football coach.

And the School Committee couldn't reverse the decision even if they wanted to.

"The School Committee has no say whatsoever in the hiring and firing of school personnel," Committee member Chris Allen said. "We can only hire and fire the superintendent."

Check back with Patch for further updates.