|
School officials tap Cottrell to be SMHS assistant principal
Blue Ridge principal, assistant principal turn in resignations
By Lynn Hotaling
Local school officials Monday (May 24) approved a new assistant principal for the county’s largest school and accepted resignations from both administrators at the school system’s only K-12 facility.
School board members named former Cullowhee High School basketball star Michael Cottrell to be an assistant principal at Smoky Mountain High School. If Cottrell accepts the position, he will move into the assistant principal’s vacancy created when Alex Bell was promoted to SMHS principal.
As of Tuesday morning, Cottrell said he was unsure whether he would accept the job.
“I’ve really enjoyed coaching, and I’ve met some of my goals,” Cottrell said Tuesday. “Getting into administration is something I’ve been looking at. I just have to see if this is the right time. I’m flattered they offered it to me.”
Cottrell, currently men’s head basketball coach at Hayesville High, ranks fifth on North Carolina’s all-time basketball scoring list with a total of 2,503 points. He led the state in scoring twice, posting a 29.1 average as a junior and a 26.9 average his senior year. He twice led Cullowhee to the regional finals and was named all-conference and all-district while starring at Lenoir-Rhyne.
He has been a successful coach at Hayesville and led the Yellow Jackets to the state 1-A championship in March.
Cottrell, who teaches health and physical education at Hayesville, is national board certified. He began his teaching career at Nantahala in 1992 and moved to Towns County (Ga.) High School the following year. Cottrell taught and coached at TCHS until he accepted the job at Hayesville in 1999.
After completing his undergraduate education at Lenoir-Rhyne, Cottrell earned a master’s in administration at Piedmont College and his education specialist certification at Lincoln Memorial in Tennessee.
If Cottrell accepts the SMHS assistant principal job, he will be paid a total of $47,652 for 12 months, said David Steinbicker, school system finance officer. Of that, $7,942 would be from local funds and $39,710 from state monies.
In other administrative personnel action, school board members accepted the resignations of Blue Ridge Principal Roy Douthitt and Assistant Principal Kelly Beck.
In a letter to Superintendent Sue Nations, Douthitt called the opportunity to serve as Blue Ridge principal a “privilege” and called the southern Jackson County school “the most dynamic in the county.”
An assistant principal at BRS before being named principal a year ago, Douthitt’s letter chronicles testing and technological advances made during that time. He describes his association with the school as “a productive and exciting four years.”
However, Douthitt’s letter indicates that he feels it’s best for the school if he resigns.
“ ... I expected more, mostly of myself, and so it is that I have decided that it is in the best interests of the school to step down at this time,” Douthitt writes. “I said four years ago that Blue Ridge School has the potential to be one of the best schools in the state. That is as true today as it was then.”
Douthitt’s resignation is effective July 1.
Nations said Douthitt’s resignation was expected and that he had discussed his plans with her before submitting the letter.
“I knew it was coming,” she said.
Assistant Principal Beck cited “personal reasons” when submitting her resignation, Superintendent Nations said.
Sports Editor Carey Phillips contributed to this report.
|
