Former Kentucky State University football coach Donald Smith has been named superintendent of Marion County Public Schools.
Smith, who was fired from KSU in March 2004, will be the first African American male to lead a Kentucky school system as superintendent.
According to minutes from the Board of Education’s April 14 meeting, Smith’s four-year contract will begin July 1. He will be paid $105,000 a year plus benefits to lead the 3,100-student school district.
The board’s approval was unanimous.
Smith, who works as assistant superintendent for Burgin Independent Schools, is out of the office this week and couldn’t be reached for comment.
In February 2004, KSU suspended Smith after his third season as coach, citing “allegations of misuse of university funds.” After he was fired, Smith sued the university’s interim athletic director, interim president and Board of Regents.
The Lebanon Enterprise reported this week that the Marion County Board of Education members were aware of the issue, and they were told Smith’s name was cleared after the funds were found.
Since leaving KSU, Smith worked with central Kentucky youth agencies, served as a principal in Mercer County, and entered the Kentucky Department of Education Minority Superintendent Internship program, according to the Lebanon Enterprise.
In 2004, Interim Education Commissioner Elaine Farris, a graduate of the program, became the first minority superintendent in the state when she took over Shelby County Public Schools.