Scott City football coach resigns post

With high school football practices beginning on Monday, Scott City High School is scrambling to fill its head coach position with the recent resignation of Jason Burkman.

Burkman, who coached the Rams for one season, approached Scott City superintendent Diann Bradshaw two weeks ago about being released from his contract due to family issues. Burkman, who has four children, recently moved to the Scott City area from Piggott, Ark., after commuting most of last year.

"It was kind of surprising," Bradshaw said. "We hated to lose him, especially at this point in the year. Football practice is just around the corner."

Bradshaw said it's unusual to allow a person out of a contract on such late notice, but said "considering it was a family issue, the board felt it was necessary to release him."

Bradshaw said first-year assistant coach Jackie Johnson, a former head coach at Caruthersville High School, has assumed the head coaching duties on an interim basis.

The Scott City School Board has planned a special meeting for 6 p.m. Wednesday to hire a new coach. Bradshaw said she has a candidate in mind to fill the position from inside the school district, but she would not confirm if that person was Johnson.

Prior to coming to Scott City, Burkman had turned a perennially downtrodden Piggott team into a state playoff team. He also appeared to have Scott City on an upward path. He led a young Ram squad to a 4-6 record in 2002, an improvement over a 3-7 mark the previous season.

"He had done some positive things for the program," Bradshaw said.

Burkman was not available for comment.