Lowndes County School District Superintendent Lynn Wright has been awarded $175,043.95 in back pay following the conclusion of his 2011 lawsuit against the district.
Wright, who was then principal of New Hope High School, and New Hope baseball coach Stacy Hester, were fired by the Lowndes County School District’s Board of Trustees on May 17, 2010 for his purported role in Hester’s purchase of a $15,000 lawn mower.
Both filed lawsuits against the district in October 2011.
In May, Lowndes County Chancery Court Judge Dorothy Colom ruled Wright was wrongfully terminated, stating in her judgment that the board’s decision “was not supported by substantial evidence and was arbitrary and capricious.”
On July 24, Colom ruled that because Wright is now district superintendent, reinstatement is not possible, so he must be given back pay, based upon his lost income and benefits from July 28, 2010 to Jan. 2, 2012. The calculations were provided to the court by LCSD Business Manager Frances Goldmon and LCSD Personnel Director Veronica Hill.
Wright could not be reached for comment.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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