Wright steps down as basketball coach
Hartselle High School will be looking for a new head coach after head coach Keith Wright notified the Hartselle Board of Education that he will be stepping down.
Wright said it was the right time to step aside.
“We’ve done some good things, but we also haven’t been as successful as we should have been,” Wright said. “With the move to 6A coming next year and Austin and Decatur becoming area games, I felt like this was the right time to step aside and give someone else a chance to improve the basketball program.”
Hartselle came within a tip-in at Walker of making the Northwest Regional in Wright’s first season in 2010-2011 and then won the hosted the area tournament for the first time since 2006-2007 the following season. However, the Tigers have failed to advance past the area tournament the last three seasons.
“It’s not a negative situation,” Wright said. “Nobody around here that wants our program to be successful more than I do.
“Coaching at basketball is challenging at Hartselle. You have one of the best football and baseball programs in the state. We need someone to take basketball to the next level.”
In other business, the board:
• allowed the HHS medical professions class to travel to Orlando, Fla., June 24-29 to participate in the HOSA National Leadership Conference and Competition.
• approved retirements from Burleson cafeteria manager Linda Foster, Burleson first grade teacher Sara Woodall, seventh grade science teacher Rita Long and instructional aide Eunice Jones.
• approved the resignation of HHS history teacher Deborah Lopez.
• hired Christopher Grant as a bus mechanic, Jessica Hargett as kindergarten teacher at Burleson, Buckey Garner as computer science, robotics and math teacher at HHS pending certification, Nick Collier as health teacher at HHS and Darryl Weidman for head custodian/maintenance assistance.