Nature Coast Tech Band Director Resigns

Nature Coast Technical High School is once again without a band director.

Kerry Nichols, who started last Wednesday, has resigned citing health reasons.

Nichols, 57, notified Nature Coast principal Tizzy Schoelles on Saturday that he wouldn't be able to keep the job.

"I had some health issues arise and wasn't quite sure how long it would take it to get resolved," Nichols said Wednesday in a brief phone interview from Wisconsin, where he and his wife Lynn own a home. "It wasn't what I had planned at all, but in examining the many options I felt it would be best for them to get someone to take over. I didn't want to leave the students hanging."

Nichols' resignation leaves the band program in limbo again. The school was rocked in January by the arrest of former director Timothy Brightbill on charges of engaging in sexual activity with a 17-year-old female student. Brightbill resigned a few days later. His pretrial hearing is slated for Friday, Feb. 27.

Schoelles and an interview committee that included band students had hopes that Nichols would be the director to get the program back on track.

Nichols has more than 30 years of experience teaching music, including 20 years at the American School in Japan, his most recent job. The Nichols also have a house in The Villages, and Kerry Nichols said the couple was ready to return to the states to be closer to family.

One student told Hernando Today last week that Nichols' talent on the podium was "amazing."

Nichols was one of three applicants for the position. The other two were recent college graduates with short resumes.

The school district will re-advertise the job, Superintendent Wayne Alexander said.

Nature Coast's band program is the smallest of the county's four high schools with about 60 total students in the concert, symphony, marching and jazz bands, but has earned praise from judges at competitions.