Raymond Bowers, a former band director at Tipton Middle School and Southside High School, officially had his contract terminated with the Dallas County School System after a hearing before the Alabama State Tenure Commission on June 12.

Bowers was recently indicted on several charges of child sex abuse, including three counts of enticing a female child for immoral purposes, two counts of sexual abuse second degree and one count of tampering with a witness.

Press reports state that three female students alleged that they were fondled or enticed by Bowers. Two of the females said the former band teacher inappropriately touched them, while another said Bowers enticed her into a room where he then attempted to touch her, press reports state.

Bowers faces a criminal trial to be held Sept. 9 at the Dallas County Courthouse, said courthouse officials.

Attorney Karen Rodgers, who represented Bowers during his appeal before the commission, could not be reached for comment.

Dallas County School System Superintendent Wayne May also said he could not comment on the matter at the present time since it was still under litigation.

However, in a recent article published in the Times-Journal on the subject of teacher background checks, May was quoted as saying, “All of our schools need a zero tolerance policy for sex offenders… Our children are our most precious commodity, and we need to protect them.”

Dallas County District Attorney Ed Greene, whose office will be prosecuting the case, said he could not comment on the details of the case at this time, but did say, “The grand jury indictments are criminal charges, which will be dealt with in the criminal courts.”

Defense attorney Gwendolyn Kennedy, an attorney from Montgomery, who is representing Bowers during his criminal trial, did not return phone calls to the Times-Journal.