A judge on Thursday said fired North Little Rock football coach Brad Bolding didn't meet the necessary burden of proof in his lawsuit challenging his dismissal.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox said Bolding didn't prove that the North Little Rock School District failed to comply with the Arkansas Teacher Fair Dismissal Act.
The act requires the district document a teacher's deficiencies and document its efforts to correct them.
Fox said during Thursday’s hearing that it’s his job to decide if the firing was lawful, not to substitute his judgement for the school board’s.
Jay Bequette, the attorney representing the district, said the school system complied with the law by documenting and attempting to correct Bolding's shortcomings through memos, emails and meetings.
Bolding filed a lawsuit against the district after he was terminated in April. In its firing notice, the district alleged Bolding violated inventory and purchasing procedures involving more than $230,000 and committed recruiting violations, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.
He was officially fired on April 10 in a special school board meeting.
David Couch, Bolding's lawyer, said during Thursday's hearing that the district fired Bolding because of a "vendetta" against him after he "aired grievances" against the athletic department.
Couch said after the hearing that he will appeal the decision.
See Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.