UPDATE:
Calloway County Schools Superintendent Steve Hoskins says the overspending by the outgoing head high school football coach totaled around $30,000.
The district indicates the over spending went to items for the team including equipment and apparel. Hoskins says the overspending exhausted the football team’s budget which is comprised of fundraiser dollars including ticket proceeds.
The school system will use district funds to make up for the shortfall. Calloway County is advertising for a new football coach.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Calloway County School officials say they’re looking for a new head football coach after signs of financial mismanagement emerged this year.
Superintendent Steve Hoskins says Coach Brad Lawson is resigning at the end of the school year.
Hoskins says the district started an internal investigation after learning certain accounts didn’t have the sufficient funds to pay incoming bills.
Hoskins says an amount of money was missing (Correction: Hoskins says no money was "missing" but rather overspent.) and that the district was handling the matter internally.
“We have reacted to this administratively and made change in the coaching assignments," said Hoskins. "We will be selecting a new coach and we ask everybody to bear with us until we get through that process. And we have a strong booster club and football program at Calloway County and they’ll pitch in and help us catch up with financing the football program for next year.”
An open records request into the program’s finances is pending; Hoskins wouldn’t say how much money was missing (Correction: spent).
“Until we get a little farther along with this thing, find out where it’s going to go, what’s going to happen with it, because confidentiality reasons, right now we better say we’ve got some overspending, mismanagement and we’re dealing with it administratively," said Hoskins.
The bulk of the football program’s funding comes locally from school funds, parent contributions and booster clubs. One of team’s funding drives involved selling admission to a school appearance of stars of the reality-TV show Duck Dynasty in 2013.
Lawson’s resignation is effective June 30th. Hoskins says a search for a new head coach is in early stages and an ad will be placed within the next few days.
