Barbara J. Barge will return to the Dallas County School System after a vote of the Dallas County School Board at a special called meeting Monday night.

On Friday the Court of Civil Appeals in Montgomery unanimously agreed with Fourth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Marvin Wiggins, who ordered the board to reinstate Barge on Aug. 8, 2003, in an order with no opinion.

The board voted 3 to 2 after a brief executive session on Monday in favor of accepting the Court of Civil Appeals’ decision and declined an appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court.

Board members Bill Minor, Roy Edwards and Mark Story voted in favor of reinstating Barge. Board members Ollis Grayson and Cecil Williamson opposed.

Dallas County Schools Superintendent Wayne May recommended before Monday’s vote that the board decline an appeal. &uot;I’m not pleased with the court’s decision, but there’s a time to move on,&uot; he said.

Attorney John Pilcher, who represents the board, said that the board could request an opinion from the court, appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court or allow Barge to return to her job.

Williamson, who opposed letting the matter drop, said he didn’t think it would benefit anyone to return Barge to Southside High School.

The board hasn’t yet decided if Barge will return to Southside or be transferred to another school.

The board terminated Barge Jan. 13, 2003, after hearing four hours of testimony about a tape recording that purports to show Barge using graphic sexual language with a student and making derogatory comments about current and former Southside High School employees.

According to attorney J.L. Chestnut, who represents Barge, Barge made the tape to determine whether the student had been molested by former Southside Vice Principal John Harris.

In a $45 million lawsuit filed Dec. 3, 2002, Barge and Southside employees Kathryn M. Crosby and Henrietta Jones, and an unnamed student at Southside, allege that Harris homosexually assaulted a student.