The Selma Times-Journal

Selma High&8217;s head football coach no longer works for the Selma City School System.

The board voted 4-2, with one abstention going to the majority, to accept Brian Montgomery&8217;s resignation as a science teacher at a called board meeting on Tuesday night. The decision also nullifies his supplement as football coach.

Montgomery had said he did not intend to leave the school system, but to seek one of two open principal positions &8212; Payne Elementary and Clark Elementary.

Katy Smith Campbell, the school board&8217;s attorney, said Montgomery&8217;s letter is legally binding.

Dr. Verdell Lett-Dawson, interim superintendent, said she received a letter from Montgomery, dated June 17, stating

he would not return to Selma High as a science teacher. The letter also stated Montgomery was interested in one of the two open jobs for principal.

“If it was said that the way that my letter was written wasn’t the right way, I should have been called and told ‘Hey, look, if you still want to be the coach, you need to rescind this and just wait and see what they’re going to do with the application that you asked for being the principal,&8217;&8221; said Montgomery. &8220;It sounds like I’m trying to get pushed out; like they want me out.&8221;

The board approved former Southside High principal Bailey Dawson for the principal position at Payne Elementary and Jenise Hampton, former ninth-grade principal at Selma High, for the principal position at Clark Elementary.

Montgomery had served as athletic director and football coach for the past two years. Montgomery also has two other supplementary contracts: strength and conditioning coordinator and weights and facilities coordinator. Those contracts expire July 11. He said he has not signed any of the contracts for next year because he wanted to see if he would get a position as principal.

Since Montgomery will no longer be a teacher, however, his supplementary contracts are automatically severed.

School board members Debra Reeves-Howard and John Williams voted against accepting the resignation.

Montgomery said he is close to completing his doctorate in educational leadership from Capella University, an accredited private, for-profit online university based in Minneapolis, Minn. He completed a master&8217;s in biology at Montgomery-based Alabama State University last year.

The State Department of Education requires a minimum of a master&8217;s degree in school administration and three years of teaching experience for an administrative position, said Craig Pouncey. If the candidate seeking a school administrative position does not hold a master&8217;s degree in school administration, &8220;they would have to pursue an add-on certification which would require 25 additional hours in school administration,&8221; Pouncey said.