The termination hearing for former Columbus Municipal School District superintendent Dr. Martha Liddell has been continued.
The hearing was scheduled for Monday but Liddell requested a 45-day continuance earlier this week. Sources within the district said Liddell’s attorney, Austin Vollor of Starkville, recently quit representing her. Reached for comment Thursday afternoon, Vollor would neither confirm nor deny his professional involvement with the former superintendent.
Attempts to contact Liddell were unsuccessful.
Sources within the district said the hearing should be held by mid-November.
Liddell remains on the school district’s payroll, pending the termination hearing. In the four months since her firing, Liddell has received approximately $13,500 a month from the school district.
Liddell was fired in a 3-2 school board vote on June 17 after The Dispatch reported she used district funds to pay for a private party for her family, friends and business acquaintances at the Trotter Convention Center on Dec. 23, 2012. The party cost the district $447.51.
Liddell reimbursed the district using personal checks in the amount of $150 (dated Jan. 30, 2013) and $188.23 (dated May 30, 2013). On June 21, Liddell filed a lawsuit against the district suing for reinstatement. The case was thrown out July 11.
Sarah Fowler covered crime, education and community related events for The Dispatch.
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