By the end of its meeting Monday night, the Collingswood Board of Education had a room of constituents crying out, “Shame on you,” while NBC-10 camera crews waited on the steps of Zane North Elementary School to interview the principal speakers.

The board unanimously approved its roster of high school athletic coaches for 2012-13, and for the first time in years, Joe McLoughlin’s name was not on the list. McLoughlin was relieved of his coaching position for reasons the school board never specified. The school's all-time winning basketball coach said he was fired for not playing enough white players.

According to Joe Betley, solicitor for the borough of Collingswood, the allegations were serious enough that he recommended that the board hire an independent investigator to look into them.

“There are anonymous letters, tapes of things that were said 13 years ago,” Betley said. “These allegations are very serious … reputations that are being sullied. Let’s get to the facts.”

Betley’s recommendation, which the board approved, was to hire Haddonfield Borough Commissioner Edward Borden, a former Camden County Prosecutor, to investigate the claims at a rate of $250 per hour for a maximum of 40 hours.