Woodland Hills School Board Accepts Resignation Of Embattled Principal & Football Coach

Follow KDKA-TV: Facebook | Twitter

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Woodland Hills school board accepted the resignation of its principal and football coach Kevin Murray.

The vote was unanimous at the board's meeting Wednesday night.

"It was in the best interest of both parties," said Murray's attorney, Phil DiLucente.

Last week, Murray resigned as the high school's head football coach.

Murray had been on unpaid leave as principal since July while the state education department decides if his teaching certificate should be renewed.

Earlier Wednesday, attorneys for five former students announced they will file special education and civil rights complaints against Murray, former school resource officer Stephen Shaulis and the Woodland Hills School District.

Murray was placed on paid leave in November of 2016 after an audio recording surfaced of him using profanity and threatening to hit a student.

Murray was not charged with a crime and was reinstated in January.

In April, another student reported that he had been punched during an altercation with Shaulis.

The lawyer representing that boy released surveillance video of the incident and another incident from 2015 in which Shaulis appeared to use a Taser on a student that Murray was holding down.

Neither Shaulis or Murray have ever been charged criminally in connection with the incidents.

Another Woodland Hills employee was fired in June after video surfaced of him grabbing a 13-year-old boy and dragging him down the hallway.

In June of this year, the Woodland Hills School District hired a local public relations firm and announced a special commission to try and fix the problems at the school.