The trial date for the leading candidate to be the next Caledonia High School football coach who was charged with careless driving and refusing to submit to a test for driving under the influence has been continued until July 31 in D’Iberville Municipal Court.
David King, a 44-year-old assistant football coach and driver’s education instructor at Biloxi High, was arrested following a 3:40 a.m. traffic stop March 2 off Interstate 110. King has pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges. His trial date was originally scheduled for May 22.
When contacted Thursday, King declined to comment and referred all questions to his lawyer, Donald Rafferty. When asked for his lawyer’s information, King said, “Why are y’all doing this?” He gave his lawyer’s name then said he had no comment on the situation.
Rafferty didn’t return multiple calls for comment by press time.
On Friday morning, Caledonia High Principal Andy Stevens also declined to comment.
Lowndes County School District Superintendent Lynn Wright said Thursday that King “still hasn’t been found guilty.” He said he learned Thursday morning from Stevens that King’s case had been continued until July 31.
Earlier this month, the LCSD board members opted to delay a decision on approving the hiring of King until after his court date on the charges. The board’s decision came after a nearly two-hour executive session during its monthly meeting. No board members would comment on the record to The Dispatch after that meeting.
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Wright said Thursday. “Being a personnel issue, I cannot comment. Our board and our attorney will review the information we have and we will go from there.”
The LCSD’s next scheduled board meeting is June 8. Wright said the board likely would discuss the matter in executive session.
“It would have been a whole lot easier making a decision if the court had ruled, but they didn’t, so it kind of puts things in limbo,” Wright said. “But we will have to make a decision here pretty quick one way or the other.”
Wright said he doesn’t anticipate a call meeting before the June meeting, but he said it could happen. He said he hasn’t spoken with any board members about the situation, only to Stevens.
“We look forward to getting that situation settled,” Wright said. “The stake of the football team in Caledonia and Caledonia high school, they want to get it all resolved as soon as possible.”
Wright said district leaders are being “conscientious.”
King, who was recommended by Stevens, is still employed as an assistant coach at Biloxi High. He served previous coaching stints at Hancock and West Point high schools.
King would replace Tim Nickens, who resigned May 1. Nickens, who spent 2017 as defensive coordinator at New Hope High, was hired at Caledonia in March to replace Ricky Kendrick, who resigned after the 2017 season.
Nickens worked with the team through about half of spring practice before resigning. He hasn’t publicly given a reason for his resignation.
Caledonia has had four head football coaches — two for two stints — in the last 11 seasons. The 2018 season will mark the third-straight year the program will have a new coach.
Nickens’ replacement will be the sixth person to lead the program since David Boykin was the head coach in 2007.
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