Little Rock Parkview football coach Brad Bolding is on track to be the modern head coach at North Little Rock High School where he was fired about 10 years ago, Arkansas Football Scoop reported last night.
Bolding’s hiring will need the approval of the North Little Rock School Board, the report said. North Little Rock School District spokesman Dustin Barnes did not immediately respond to a message seeking information for this story.
The district’s next regularly scheduled board meeting is set for Jan. 23.
Bolding was fired by the school district in 2015 amid a row over procurement rules, equipment purchases and the alleged recruitment of a player. Bolding sued the district in circuit court, saying the district had violated the Arkansas Teacher Fair Dismissal Act that lays out requirements for terminating a teacher. Judge Tim Fox ruled in favor of the district. Fox said the district had documented that it had explained its policies to Bolding. The coach said the policies were deficient and inadequate but Fox said Bolding did not identify any policy he was unable to follow or understand.
The trouble for Bolding began in 2013 when then-Athletic Director Gary Davis discovered a $37,796 debt owed by the football program to a third-party vendor. That led to the district requiring Bolding to obtain approval before making purchases. In early 2015, Davis and a human resources employee became aware of “a large number of purchases” by Bolding on behalf of the football program that were “in utter disregard of the previous directives,” the court record states.
Bolding also faced questions over a $600 payment from an athletic booster account to the stepfather of a player. The district believed Bolding had violated the rules of the Arkansas Activities Association, which regulates high school football, and self-reported the violation.
The player in question was K.J. Hill, a four-star wide receiver recruit at Bryant who transferred to North Little Rock. Hill initially committed to Arkansas to play college football but later reopened his recruitment and signed with Ohio State. Hill went on to score 20 touchdowns for the Buckeyes across four seasons before playing two seasons in the NFL.
Davis, the athletic director during the 2015 hubbub with Bolding, retired in 2023 after more than 40 years with the district, according to a report from Arkansas Newsroom.
In tardy 2016, the Little Rock School District hired Bolding to take over as head coach at Parkview High School. Bolding led the Patriots to state championships the last three seasons.
When Bolding was hired at Parkview, Michael Poore, who led the district while it was under state control, defended the hiring to the Arkansas Times:
We had two thorough interviews with Coach Bolding and feel very good about this hire. It is also vital to note that we did our homework on background checks as well. This is a hire that is going to be good for kids.
