Sam Horrell Contract Not Renewed at Clayton High School

*Editor's note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Sam Horrell's titled at Clayton High School. He is a physical education teacher. This article has been updated to reflect the correct title.

Former (CHS) football coach Sam Horrell will not return as a physical education* teacher this fall, the district confirmed Wednesday.

On April 4, the Clayton Board of Education voted unanimously to not renew Horrell's contract, said Chris Tennill, chief communications officer for the School District of Clayton.

The school does not have the enrollment to support another P.E. teacher, Tennill said. Horrell was the only non-tenured P.E. teacher* on staff at the high school. Tennill said the school has a total of 2.3 full-time equivalent P.E. and health teachers.

This past May, the after an investigation into whether he violated bylaws of the Missouri State High School Activities Association. The district said at the time it self-reported information that Horrell was "involved in strength and conditioning workouts with eighth grade students who attend ."

The decision prompted an outpouring of support for Horrell from football players, students and parents who worked with him. Students led a protest May 6 at CHS, and attendees of a school board meeting days later wore shirts stating "Bring Back Coach Horrell."

A Facebook group bearing the same title has 731 friends. A posting last week about the Horrell contract decision generated several comments.

"That's really obnoxious, but I'm not sure we can actually do anything about it," Megan Isacreeper wrote. "The issue is that without this silly MSH(S)AA thing, he probably would have been at CHS for a long time. He's a really, really good teacher, and I'm saying this from the standpoint of a kid who doesn't even like the subject he teaches."

Another commenter, Lily Niswonger, wrote that it "seems as though they are doing this to all the great coaches who have really made an impact on us, students. :( We will miss him so much!!"

Horrell .

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