A private preparatory school in Burbank is facing criticism after removing a memorial honoring Paul Sutton, a longtime Providence High School coach and athletic director who died of cancer at age 41. The photo and plaque, installed after Sutton’s death in 1999, had stood in the gym foyer for nearly three decades before being taken down.
Sutton served Providence for 14 seasons, from 1985 until his death in 1999. During that period, he worked as athletic director and coached basketball, track and cross country, becoming closely associated with the school’s small athletics program.
The removed memorial has been replaced by a flat screen monitor intended for digital updates and announcements. School officials have said the screen better serves the school community, while Sutton’s widow, Dana, reportedly said she was told the memorial was no longer relevant for today’s students.
That explanation drew criticism from supporters of Sutton and from people who viewed the removal as a dismissal of the school’s own history. One user described the decision as a “terrible look” for Providence High School, pointing to Sutton’s death from cancer and to the tribute that had been placed in his honor after 1999.
Sutton’s record at Providence included a 166-151 mark as basketball coach and three Liberty League titles. In his final season, while dealing with severe health complications from colon cancer, he continued coaching for most of the 1998-1999 season and led the school to a league championship and a CIF playoff berth.
His death was covered at the time by the LA Times, and a close friend, Dan Haasch, said Sutton had helped legitimize small-school athletics and coached for the students. For former players and supporters, those details are central to why the foyer memorial carried meaning beyond a single photograph and plaque.
The dispute also revives an earlier conflict over how Providence would honor Sutton. According to the account, Sutton died believing the school’s new gym facility would be named for him, but in 2002 the administration declined to do so. The photo and plaque display in the gym foyer became the compromise.
Providence Head of School Scott McLarty ordered the memorial’s removal. McLarty has led the school since July 2019 and has spent more than 20 years working in Catholic schools as a teacher and administrator. Providence is a private, upper-middle-class preparatory school with annual tuition listed at $31,800, plus registration and application fees.
The removal has turned a school facilities decision into a broader argument over memory, legacy and institutional responsibility. For Sutton’s supporters, the issue is not only the placement of a digital screen, but the disappearance of a public tribute to a coach who spent the final years of his life serving the school’s athletes.