Former longtime Stanhope Elmore head football coach Jeff Foshee reached a settlement with the Alabama State Department of Education last month to accept probation and keep his teaching certificate amid allegations he paid special education teacher Abby Butler in May 2016 to change a student football player’s grades.
According to the settlement agreement documents obtained by the Wetumpka Herald Thursday, Foshee settled with the state department of education March 8, accepting an 18-month probationary period on his certificate and avoiding a formal hearing, where his license could have been revoked.
While the ALSDE letter states its agreement with Foshee “will serve as an admission of the conduct specified in the reprimand [letter from Alabama State Superintendent Michael Sentance],” Foshee’s attorney Tom Loper told the Herald Thursday that his client did not admit any wrongdoing.
Read the settlement agreement between the Department of Education and Foshee here: Foshee-ALSDESettlement
“There is nothing he admitted that was wrong,” said Loper, an associate attorney at the Gardner Firm in Mobile. “This was hanging over his head for a while now. He wanted to get this resolved so he can move on with his life.
“Mr. Foshee, like many of my other clients, agreed to settle with the state education department in order to resolve the case in a timely manner rather than prolong it to keep him from future employment. Obviously, the state department’s evidence did not say that Mr. Foshee should not get back to work because he keeps his certificate. He’s able to get back to work. His license is good, so he could work next school year. I think Mr. Foshee is a good guy and he wants to get back to work as soon as possible.”
Foshee has remained steadfast in denying any wrongdoing on his part throughout the entire investigation.
The reprimand letter from Sentance addressing Foshee acknowledged he had “reviewed information that indicates that [Foshee] committed … acts of misconduct,” including paying Butler, “a teacher, at least $300 to ensure that [redacted], a student football player, would pass his classes.
“Your misconduct occurred over several months, beginning in approximately April of 2016, when you told Ms. Butler that you would pay her $500 if she helped [redacted] to pass his classes and to not attend summer school,” the letter said. “On or about May 26, 2016, after Ms. Butler told you that [redacted] had passed his classes, you paid her $300 in the presence of other coworkers.”
The coach suddenly resigned June 9 at an emergency-called Elmore County Board of Education meeting, citing health concerns and wanting to spend more time with his family.
Then Stanhope Elmore High School principal Jamey McGowin self-reported the alleged violations on June 21 to the Alabama High School Athletic Association Central Board, which hit the football program with a $300 fine and one year of probation.
