Dallas Jackson to resign as Forest Hills superintendent

Forest Hills School District Superintendent Dallas Jackson is stepping down.

The decision was announced Monday night in an email from the board of education to district parents. Jackson stepped down Monday, and the board will officially accept his resignation when he presents it at the next meeting, said BOE president Randy Smith.

Board members are working on the details of a separation agreement, Smith said, and they'll meet sometime in the next few days to appoint an interim superintendent, allowing for a thorough search for a full-time replacement.

"(The board) felt this was in the best interest of the district, and this is the first step in moving the school district forward in a positive direction," Smith said.

Jackson has been under scrutiny ever since more than two dozen Turpin High School teachers signed a letter to the school board, alleging Jackson bullied teachers into changing grades after his son failed an exam.

The school board hired David P. Kamp, an outside investigator, to look into the situation. It is still not clear how much Kamp was paid for his report.

Opinions were strong on both sides of the issue, but retired Forest Hills teacher Marianne Davis was overjoyed to hear that Jackson will resign.

"I think the district got a big boost this day, when they said, 'Enough,'" Davis said. "And people realized, 'Well, the board really does have the children in mind.'

Jackson started in 2010 at Forest Hills. His contract runs through July 2018, and his base pay in the 2014-15 school year was $147,500. With benefits, his total compensation was $224,925, according to documents in his personnel file.

There were no reprimands or disciplinary actions in the file.

The Enquirer first reported the investigation on April 20. Since then, there have been different rumors every day about what would happen, Davis said.

The problem, she said, is that when people don't know what's going on, they invent it.

Still, she wasn't surprised Monday when she got the email about the resignation.

"I'm just really glad that it's going to get better," she said. "And I hope the board is more astute in evaluating the character of the applicants that they meet (for Jackson's replacement). I think this was a character issue."