Hey Fort Smith — this one finally looks like it’s coming to an end. The Fort Smith School Board approved a $525,000 settlement Monday night with former Northside head football coach Felix Curry, closing out the lawsuit that followed his removal from the coaching job and reassignment inside the district.
And that $525,000 number still isn’t necessarily the full cost of this whole situation. According to Talk Business & Politics, the settlement is being paid by the district’s insurer and does not include legal fees. The outlet has requested those legal costs from Fort Smith Public Schools, so there could still be another number coming.
Curry had been part of Northside football for years before taking over as head coach in 2022. In late 2024, he was told his head coaching contract would not be renewed. Not long after that, he was reassigned to the district’s Student Detention Center.
That’s where the fight really started.
Curry sued in 2025, arguing that the reassignment wasn’t handled legally because it happened without approval from the Fort Smith School Board. The district later agreed to a consent judgment acknowledging that the reassignment violated Arkansas law.
Curry’s lawsuit eventually went further than the reassignment issue. An amended complaint alleged racial discrimination, arguing that white coaches with similar or worse win-loss records were retained longer or offered different opportunities inside the district.
The district disputed liability on those claims. The settlement agreement specifically says Fort Smith Public Schools is resolving the case without admitting liability, while saying the district believes putting the dispute behind everyone is in the best interest of the school system.
The School Board approved the settlement unanimously Monday night.
Part of the agreement also requires the district to provide Curry with a letter of recommendation within 14 days. Curry said after the settlement that he was grateful to current Superintendent Marty Mahan and the district for attempting to right what he believes was a wrong, and that he’s ready to move on to the next chapter of his life.
This whole situation had already caused fallout well beyond the football field. In January 2025, School Board member Talicia Richardson resigned after the board chose not to reinstate Curry. Richardson said at the time that the grievance process had not been followed and that she believed Curry had been treated unfairly.
So when you add everything up, this wasn’t just a coaching change that people argued about for a few weeks and forgot about. It turned into a lawsuit, a board resignation, a consent judgment that the reassignment violated state law, allegations of racial discrimination and now a settlement worth more than half a million dollars.
For families and taxpayers in Fort Smith, the obvious question now is what the complete price tag ends up being. The settlement amount is known. The legal bill isn’t.
That distinction matters because lawsuits involving public school districts don’t happen in some separate universe. Even when insurance covers a settlement, legal disputes can still affect premiums, legal expenses, staff time and the way future personnel decisions are handled.
There’s also a bigger lesson here for the district going forward. Whatever anyone thinks about Curry as a coach or whether Northside football needed a change, personnel decisions still have to follow the law and the district’s own procedures. Once those processes break down, something that might have ended as a normal employment change can turn into years of litigation.
For Curry, the settlement gives him a clean break and a recommendation letter as he looks toward whatever comes next. For Fort Smith Public Schools, it closes a case that had become a distraction and a source of continued scrutiny.
The one piece still worth watching is the legal cost. Talk Business & Politics says it has asked the district for that figure. Once that number is released, Fort Smith residents will have a much better idea of what this dispute actually cost from beginning to end.
Community takeaway: Fort Smith Public Schools has agreed to a $525,000 settlement with former Northside football coach Felix Curry, ending the lawsuit over his reassignment and treatment by the district. The district admits the reassignment violated Arkansas law but does not admit liability on Curry’s other claims. Curry gets a recommendation letter and the case moves toward closure. Now the big unanswered question is how much the district spent on lawyers on top of the settlement.
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Sources: Talk Business & Politics — Felix Curry settlement · Fort Smith Public Schools — School Board
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