Board of Education votes to not renew Burgess’ contract

Tyler Burgess will not be returning as an employee of Vestavia Hills City Schools for the 2021-22 school year, as his contract, set to expire at the end of this school year, was not renewed by the Board of Education at the March 29 meeting.

After the meeting, Whit McGhee, director of public relations for the school system, said the reasons given for the non-renewal of Burgess’ contract, which was provided to board members, would not be made public as it pertains to personnel matters. McGhee added that Superintendent Todd Freeman would not be making further comment about the decision.

Last summer, Burgess was moved from his role as Vestavia Hills High School principal to oversee remote learning for all K-12 students, and then-Liberty Park Middle School Principal Tonya Rozell became principal at VHHS.

The reason given at the time of the move by the board was that leadership was needed to oversee the remote system, which has allowed some students to learn virtually during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

 “We have 7,147 kids who I want to make sure have the best experience,” Freeman said at the time. “We need to put our leadership in places that they can best serve the entire system.”

At the time, many residents took to social media, and students protested in front of the school, complaining that the school board was not being transparent about why Burgess was moved out of his position at the high school.

After students held a peaceful protest outside the high school, Freeman released a statement.

“The Board of Education and I fully support our high school students who respectfully expressed their support and appreciation for Dr. Tyler Burgess. I appreciate how much our students value the influence he had on them while serving as principal of Vestavia Hills High School. The students at Vestavia Hills High School today affirmed the rich tradition of love and spirit that has made the school a special place for many years,” Freeman said in the statement.

“One of the challenges we face this upcoming school year is to ensure every student in our system has a quality, meaningful educational experience whether they attend in person or remotely,” Freeman wrote. “Dr. Burgess will provide valuable leadership for the teachers and almost 1,300 students who will participate in our remote learning model. The entire VHCS administrative team remains committed to providing every student the opportunity to learn without limits, and we will continue moving forward with that mission in mind.”

As of press time, Burgess had not responded to a request for comment to this story.