Former Brockton superintendent reportedly ‘did as he pleased’ when hiring ex-Patriot Jermaine Wiggins

The Super Bowl champion was hired as Brockton High School's football coach in April 2023.

Former Patriots tight end Jermaine Wiggins was mentioned in an investigative report released to the public on Tuesday detailing Brockton Schools’ $18 million budget deficit, as reported by the Boston Herald.

The city of Brockton hired outside investigators from Boston law firm Nystrom, Beckman & Paris last year to look into the school system’s 2023 fiscal year.

In the report, the firm credits the budget shortfall to “overspending” and “structural failures,” and describes the misconduct of former superintendent Michael Thomas, including his dubious hiring practices. He allegedly created positions for and appointed those that he had close connections with. The 214-page report lists Wiggins as an example of this malpractice.

Thomas took on the Super Bowl champion as Brockton High School’s “Mentor and Head Football Coach” in April 2023. Wiggins had no coaching experience at the time, nor was he a part of the Brockton Education Association.

According to the report, a draft of the contract stated Wiggins would receive a $100,000 salary, despite Thomas saying he would be paid the “same contracted stipend that anyone that got this job would have received,” which was around $15,000.

Thomas planned to use grant money to cover this sum and applied to the Shannon Grant, which is meant to help youth at risk for gang involvement. The application claimed Wiggins would be a mentor to over a thousand student athletes, but his contract included no such terms.

News of the deficit began to come out in August 2023, around when Thomas went on medical leave. James Cobbs took over as an interim superintendent and told Wiggins they could not offer him $100,000, but instead, would pay him the stipend. Cobbs also withdrew the grant application.

Wiggins agreed to stay on with the stipend amount. His high school football coaching career with the Brockton Boxers lasted one season.

Nystrom, Beckman & Paris found no evidence of misappropriation of funds or criminal conduct, but state in their report that school and city officials were “inept” in their actions and “collectively lacked rudimentary finance skills.”

“In short, Superintendent Thomas often did as he pleased when it came to hiring,” the firm wrote. “He spent school funds without considering the impact of his spending on the budget or the rules. He made unilateral decisions, stifled opposition, and concealed the impact of his decisions from the School Committee and the public.”