The Pilot Point ISD Board of Trustees voted Wednesday night to approve a voluntary separation agreement between itself and Superintendent Todd Southard.
Southard didn't attend the special-called meeting.
The board also voted to move ahead with plans to appoint an interim superintendent. Following the meeting, board president Renee Polk said the district hasn't yet announced who the interim superintendent will be.
The small boardroom was nearly at capacity Wednesday, with visitors filling all but a few seats.
Southard's online biography states that he has worked in education for nearly 30 years, and has been with Pilot Point ISD for a decade. The district is a rural one, with an early childhood center and a single elementary, middle and high school.
Southard has served as an English teacher, a coach and an administrator. He has taught in Terrell, Gunter and Van Alstyne previously. He moved into administration in Anna.
No reasons for the voluntary separation were given during the meeting. Southard reportedly left before the end of the regular board meeting on Nov. 8, prior to the board firing an athletic trainer who was arrested for allegedly grooming a 17-year-old student.
The district has dealt with turnover in its athletics department over the last several years.
Longtime head football coach Danny David retired after the 2021 season and was replaced by former offensive coordinator Kyle Peacock in 2022. Peacock resigned after the 2022-23 school year. Current head coach Chase Adams then took over the program and the task of rebuilding its numbers ahead of this season.
Adams and the Bearcats had a tough 2023 season, finishing winless for the first time in program history.
According to his contract, which was signed in 2022 through 2025, Pilot Point ISD paid Southard an annual salary of $147,500.