Bolding's firing upheld by NLR School Board

Just before 3 a.m. Friday, the board voted to terminate the employment of Bolding, which capped a hearing that began at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the district's administrative office at 2700 N. Poplar St. The board has seven members.

Bolding, 45, who received two termination letters earlier this year from Superintendent Kelly Rodgers under the Arkansas Teacher Fair Dismissal Act, requested a public hearing to fight allegations that he violated inventory and purchasing procedures involving more than $230,000. The school district made the allegations in its firing notices, which also noted alleged recruiting violations.

"This was a matter of an employee violating clearly set policies and procedures for financial reporting for our district and athlete recruitment set by the Arkansas Activities Association. These violations warranted his termination," Rodgers said in a statement released Friday morning.

School Board President Scott Miller led the board in a 30-minute executive session after the hearing. The nine-hour hearing included testimony from Bolding; Rodgers; the district's chief financial officer, Denise Drennan; the district's human resources director, Gregg Thompson; Dr. Brad Jenkins of Baptist Health Medical Center in North Little Rock; and NLR Athletic Foundation President Jay Amberg. Little Rock attorney Jay Bequette represented the school district.

David Couch, who represents Bolding, said the result was not surprising to him or to Bolding. He said he plans to appeal the firing next week in Pulaski County Circuit Court.

"It's very difficult for a school board to go against its administration because they work so close together," Couch said. "We've already prepared our next strategy. We'll be able to appeal to Circuit Court and not have someone so close to the situation and not so close to the witnesses to make an independent decision.

"He always wants to win. As a coach, you're used to losing. He was prepared for this. He anticipated this might happen."

Bolding received the first termination notice Jan. 30 and was to have an appeal hearing Feb. 26, but the district submitted another termination notice Feb. 25.

Rodgers said the district sent the second firing letter so it could introduce new evidence at Bolding's appeal hearing and still abide by the requirements of the Arkansas Teacher Fair Dismissal Act, which allows school districts to present only evidence of allegations outlined in a teacher's fair dismissal notice.

In the second notice, the school district noted that more than $140,000 of the purchases had been made after district officials reprimanded Bolding in August 2013 for not following purchasing procedures.

Bolding has denied wrongdoing.

In a memorandum by Thompson given to all district coaches Aug. 9, 2013, all purchases of more than $1,000 must go through the athletic director, Drennan said at the hearing.

Thompson said that "even if money fell out of the sky," Bolding was supposed to notify the athletic director of any purchases that would exceed that amount.

"You can ask any coach in this district, nothing is clear on how to do anything," Bolding said about the district's purchasing procedures.

Earlier in the hearing Thursday, Rodgers told Couch that contact between a student-athlete's stepfather before the athlete enrolled in the district and football players was the reason for the forfeitures of football games and basketball games during the 2013-14 academic year.

Rodgers said the Arkansas Activities Association told him that by volunteering with the North Little Rock football team in January and February 2013, Montez Peterson, stepfather of star wide receiver K.J. Hill, helped lead to the school forfeiting 10 football victories and 24 basketball victories, including the 2014 Class 7A boys basketball state championship. The forfeitures took place Feb. 5.

Despite Couch introducing documents saying Peterson and his wife, Deidra, had moved into the North Little Rock district in February 2013, Rodgers said the AAA relayed to him that it doesn't matter where a family lived if there was contact prior to a student-athlete enrolling.

Hill played basketball at Bryant High School before transferring to North Little Rock on March 4, 2013.

"There was contact," Rodgers said. "It didn't matter where they live. This is the violation. This is the penalty. Bottom line."

Rodgers said Lance Taylor, the AAA's executive director, told him that it would be in North Little Rock's best interest to self-report the violations, which the school did one day after Hill signed a national letter of intent to play college football at Ohio State.

"I didn't want to forfeit those trophies," Rodgers said. "My biggest disappointment is taking that trophy away from those kids."

Bolding denied he recruited Hill, saying the program recruits itself.

"The AAA is in our backyard," said Bolding, referring to the AAA headquarters in North Little Rock. "We've never had one hand slap or anything. I believe in doing things right and doing procedures the right way. If a guy living in your community is coming out to volunteer is worth turning in a state championship trophy and all those wins for those kids, I don't see it. I don't know if Lance Taylor sees it when he sees all the information."

During the hearing, Couch asked Thompson why the school district would not convey more information to the AAA before forfeiting the games.

Thompson told Couch that the coach violated the AAA's rules on recruiting, specifically in contact he had with Hill's family.

"We interpret the AAA regulations as they interpret them," Thompson said, contending that the association would have meted out the same penalty.

According to Article III, Section 1, Rule 3 of the AAA handbook, North Little Rock violated two of the seven parts of the recruiting guidelines, which includes that a coach may not contact a student or the student's parents prior to enrollment in the school.

Couch argued that lesser sanctions could have been imposed for North Little Rock.

"That's what they hoped," Thompson said, adding that, based on the evidence from the AAA's legal counsel as well as the district's, the school would have received the same penalty.

He also said that Athletic Director Gary Davis asked Taylor if there was a way to avoid forfeiture of games, but Taylor said no.

Thompson said that Hill's family moving into the district before his enrollment could have made a difference in whether Bolding would have been terminated.

The district has cited a Feb. 7, 2013, check from the nonprofit NLR Athletic Foundation as proof that Bolding or "a third party with [Bolding's] knowledge" gave money to Peterson, about a month before Hill enrolled in the North Little Rock district as a sophomore.

Bolding has denied giving Peterson the $600 check. Bolding and Billy Starks, a former NLR Athletic Foundation president, have said Starks gave Peterson the check to pay for supplies for a football-related cookout and other athletic equipment for the team. Peterson was volunteering with the football program at the time, they said.

Couch said that whether he decides to sue the AAA will depend on Bolding's status after his expected Circuit Court appeal.

"If I have a client that has standing, I will," Couch said. "If not, then I hope the school district and School Board will instruct the athletic director, who didn't testify tonight, to go back to the AAA.

"Some of the parents of the student-athletes do have standing."

Friday's announcement marked the end of one of the most successful coaching tenures in Arkansas over the past decade.

Bolding was 64-30 in eight seasons at North Little Rock, which hired him in 2007. He led the Charging Wildcats to the 7A/6A-East Conference championship last year but lost to Bentonville 42-10 in the 7A state semifinals. While at North Little Rock, Bolding won 10 or more games in four of his eight seasons at the school. He also coached the 2005 and 2006 seasons at Mayflower and was an assistant at Greenwood and Rogers as well as Arkansas-Monticello.

Bolding is the son of former high school coach and Conway Athletic Director Buzz Bolding and the brother of Pine Bluff High School football coach Bobby Bolding.

North Little Rock officially posted its football coaching vacancy Friday on the AAA website and other coaching and national websites. Rodgers said Friday that it will be a national search and that eight applicants had expressed interest.

Rodgers told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that a committee will help decide the next football coach. The application deadline is April 24.

"We're looking for someone who can fit into our program and our situation and have an understanding of working at the level that our kids are used to performing at," Rodgers said. "We want someone who is successful, who is experienced and can move the program up. Our goal is we want to win a state championship."

North Little Rock assistant coaches Blake Pizan and Larry Standley are currently running the football program, Rodgers said.

Metro on 04/11/2015