The Hamilton Local School District says it has released William Morrison from his contract.
He was arrested last week on the west side of Columbus and officers found a suspected crack pipe and crack rock in his vehicle.
Morrison was the school’s superintendent.
The board released the following statement:
“We worked as quickly as the legal system would allow in regards to matters involving our former superintendent. He has been released from his contract effective immediately. Our community has used words like disappointed, upset, and frustrated when describing their feelings in regards to the recent news of our former superintendent, and we understand how you feel. However, please know that this does not define our school district or community. Does it impact our former superintendent? Yes! Does it define us? Absolutely Not!
The communities that we serve are proud, caring and accomplished. Everyone can take pride in the Hamilton Local School District because our students are still the same students, our teachers are still the same teachers, and our current leadership has worked tirelessly, spending many hours away from their families, to guide our district through this difficult time.
The event that took place last weekend will rest on our former superintendent’s shoulders, not ours. We will continue providing outstanding educational opportunities to our students, we will cheer loudly for all of our teams and organizations, we will continue to stand tall wearing our Hamilton Green and Gold, and we will come out of this stronger and better than ever before.”
Morrison was placed on paid administrative leave and Mark Tyler was made the interim superintendent. Tyler has been the district assistant superintendent since July 2015.
This week, Morrison pleaded guilty to offenses involving possession of a counterfeit controlled substance. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 176 of those suspended. He also has one year of probation.
He has since been released from jail.
