MOULTRIE – The era is over.

In a unanimous vote by the Colquitt County Board of Education – with plenty of opposition expressed in the meeting room – Rush Propst was relieved of his duties as the high school’s head football coach in a special called meeting Thursday.

After an executive session lasting more than two hours, the full board and school superintendent Doug Howell returned to open session, where Howell made the unpopular recommendation.

Propst was suspended by Howell on Feb. 26 for what Howell called a pending investigation into personnel issues.

“Based on the result and all the evidence, I recommend the Colquitt County Board of Education permanently relieve Rush Propst as head football coach,” said Howell. “Together with any and all coaching duties such that from this day forward, Rush Propst will no longer have any coaching duties for the Colquitt County school system.”

Board member Pat Anderson made the motion to accept Howell’s recommendation, and board member Kevin Sumner seconded.

As board chairman Mary Beth Watson read a prepared statement, several members of a standing-room only crowd made their feelings known, none of which supported the move. Numerous times people asked what Propst did to bring about his firing, but they didn’t get an answer. The board has yet to disclose any allegations against Propst.

“The Colquitt County Board of Education considers student safety, welfare … to be an essential component of our responsibility to our system and our community,” said Watson. “The board will always make the choice that in its opinion is right and in the best interest of students. … I realize we live in a society where we expect to know every detail of every decision. But sometimes the details or decisions are not publicly available at the time the decision is made. … While it is natural to be concerned about the future of our football program, we have talented … student athletes … a supportive fan base and an administration that will give (them) every opportunity for success. Our community is a wonderful place to work. … Our program will persevere and thrive while meeting the needs of our students and our citizens.”

Howell stated to media afterwards that this vote ends the school system’s investigation and that the Professional Standards Commission is taking up the case. He would make no other statements.

A pro-Propst crowd

Propst became head football coach at Colquitt County High in 2008. Since then, the Packers played in five state championship games winning two back-to-back (2014-15).

Several people at Thursday’s called meeting signed up to speak to the board, and every one of them spoke about Propst’s impact on his football players, how he takes an interest in their well-being all the way to the sixth grade level. The emphasis wasn’t so much on the winning, but the time Propst spent in working closely with players, seeing that they received an opportunity to play in college on scholarship.

Several players, from the 2019 senior class to underclassmen, were in attendance and gathered together to present a petition supporting Propst.

One former player, Tyler Howard from the Class of 2018, spoke as well.

“The person I know as Rush Propst, he takes people in and shelters them,” he said. “There’s been multiple boys who stayed with him. He’s fed them, sheltered them and clothed them. He is so much more than coach. You know he likes to win, but what really matters to coach Propst and what he considers winning is if he can enrich a young man’s life through structure like he did our football program that he built since 2008, if he can send a young man and keep him out of trouble … out of harm’s way with his football program. … He’s enriched the lives of many boys. There’s not many people in this community who put in the time and effort behind the scenes as he has and his coaching staff. He leads by example. I’m not saying he hasn’t made mistakes. We all made mistakes.”

Wilson concluded by asking they not take away one of the few people willing to help these young people.

Both Steven Rykard and his son Will, a three-year starting center for Propst and signee to UAB, also addressed the board. The Rykards were especially involved in the football program helping feed the players “every single day.”

“I don’t have a problem with you doing an investigation,” said Steven Rykard. “That’s your job. You were brought something, you had to investigate it. It’s a personnel issue. You can’t say what it is. I get it.

“One thing you can do is the way you conduct an investigation. When I found out Coach Propst would not be allowed to go to any of his children’s functions, that is the most egregious action I ever heard of from employer to employee. That is wrong on so many levels. What have you said to that man and his family?”

Rykard even questioned whether someone like Propst would want to continue to work for the school system based on that. He acknowledged how important Propst is to him and his own family and he hoped the board would take the opportunity to set things right.

“I wouldn’t work for you after this [if I were in Propst’s place],” he said.

“He’s chewed me out. He’s helped me through hard times,” said Will Rykard about his time playing under Propst. “He’s done everything you could possibly do to help me. Without him I wouldn’t be going to UAB. I wouldn’t have half the scholarships I’ve gotten. It’s the same for all those boys sitting right there.

“Yeah, we love to win, but he’s working day and night to get us a college education. Get us off the streets. You take that away, you change the whole culture.

“He’s taught me how to be a man. He’s put me through situations most high schoolers don’t go through. He prepared me for life.”

Even after a game, Rykard said Propst wouldn’t bring up what just happened, but tests they need to take the next day.

Jody Weathers, a local attorney, stated there’s no one who’s done more for Colquitt County’s African-American community than Propst. He questioned if there was enough evidence to terminate Propst, but also said that compared to the coach’s winning percentage, local third graders only have a 30 percent passing rate on standardized tests.

“Whose winning percentage needs to be evaluated?” he asked.