School district stands by decision to hire two men charged with felonies
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SALMON — Salmon School District 291 is standing by its decision to hire an athletic director who was convicted of felony manslaughter along with keeping the head football coach on staff who was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance.
Craig Larsen was convicted of felony manslaughter after crashing his truck into the Salmon River last year, which resulted in the death of 22-year-old Conner P. McGarrity. Larsen was recently hired as the new Salmon High School athletic director.
RELATED | Man who crashed truck into Salmon river charged with manslaughter
Trey Infanger will soon begin his second year as head football coach at the school. He was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance in 2021, but the judge withheld judgment at sentencing. Under the terms of a withheld judgment, the defendant is never actually convicted of a crime, but Infanger was placed on probation until September 2026.
EastIdahoNews.com learned of the situation after being contacted by a concerned parent in the district, who asked to be anonymous.
Salmon Superintendent Troy Easterday told EastIdahoNews.com that the district is aware both employees have criminal backgrounds.
“The Salmon School District board, administration, staff, parents, students and community members are well aware of the past infractions of second-year head football coach Trey Infanger, and recent hire Athletic Director Craig Larsen,” Easterday said in the statement. “In the case of both hires, there have been no violations of parole or objection by parents, students, and community members at this time.”
Easterday said when a potential hire is interviewed, it is the candidate’s responsibility to “divulge any past legal issues with the district’s superintendent.” The superintendent and School Board then discuss during a closed-door session whether to grant an interview to the applicant.
If an interview is given, and the candidate in question is being hired, Easterday said the superintendent remains in contact with the candidate’s parole office to determine if there is any reason the applicant should not be hired.
The School Board can then approve the hiring of the candidate, at which point fingerprints of the potential employee are taken and sent to the state.
“The board and superintendent require a formal meeting where the board chair and superintendent are present, and that the hired candidate testify why they have a history with law enforcement to the parents, students and any community members,” Easterday said. “The candidate gives a detailed description of the event of why they were incarcerated, and asks attendees if they have objections to them working with/or around their students.”
The superintendent contact parole officers each week, and if the employees are ever out of compliance, Easterday said “they are immediately released from their current position.”
“It is our firm belief within the Salmon School District and in the community of Salmon to give individuals who have made mistakes and have turned their lives around to give them a second chance,” Easterday said.