TN Christian School Demotes New Leader After Backlash

Brian McKinney demoted to support role after parents discover he had resigned from former post over hiring of a convicted sex offender

A Tennessee Christian school is backpedaling after hiring a new principal and head of schools. Brian McKinney will instead work in a support role at Tri-Cities Christian Academy after parents discovered he had resigned from his previous position over the hiring of a registered sex offender to work on school grounds.

Video screenshot via WJHL

McKinney resigned from his position as headmaster of Park Avenue Christian Academy (PACA) in Titusville, Florida, in May 2025 after parents and church members discovered he had knowingly hired convicted sex offender Colby Ammons, 41, as a contracted worker to maintain sports fields. Ammons had been working there since at least June 2024.

McKinney was then hired by Tri-Cities Christian Academy (TCCA)—under Lakeway Christian Schools in Blountville, Tennessee—as head of schools and as principal of their newly opened upper-grade campus. It wasn’t long before parents and students started googling McKinney and uncovered the circumstances under which he’d left his last post.

Brian McKinney / Photo courtesy of TCCA

One parent, April Ferguson, whose daughter has attended TCCA for three years, told WJHL the school gave little notice to the new hiring and did not respond to emails sent by herself and other parents. She also raised concerns over Ammons’ recent move to nearby Chuckey, Tennessee, about 40 minutes from TCCA. “After learning that the sex offender that he hired in Florida has also moved to this area, that did not sit well with me,” she said. “Coincidence or not, it’s a little too much for me.”

Colby Ammons

In 2007, officers with the Polk County Sheriff’s office arrested Ammons after he sent explicit messages to an undercover officer who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. Born in January 1984, Ammons would have been 22 or 23 at the time of his arrest. Florida authorities charged Ammons with solicitation of a minor using a computer. He completed 60 months parole and was permanently placed on the sex offender registry.

Colby Ammons / Photo via Tennessee Sex Offender Registry

According to WFTV9, when parents at PACA initially confronted McKinney earlier this year about hiring Ammons, he downplayed the sex offender’s crime. “It’s not even that big of an age difference,” McKinney allegedly said. “I sat down to listen to his story. He is a reborn Christian man.”

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Tri-Cities Christian Academy

In August, after McKinney was noticeably absent on the first day of school at TCCA’s new Colonial Heights campus, the school emailed parents announcing that McKinney would be serving in an alternate role for the 2025-2026 school year.

Instead, he would be “supporting Dr. [Kevin] Cline,” who will serve as interim principal.

“In this capacity, Dr. McKinney will provide strategic guidance for Tri-Cities Christian Academy for operations and construction projects and collaborate with the advancement team to support long-term growth initiatives,” according to the parent letter, provided via email to Times News. “He will focus on fostering a culture of excellence and growth across the organization through strategic guidance and collaboration.”

The statement assuaged some fears, but other parents have decided to move on. April Ferguson pulled her daughter out and says she will homeschool this year instead, citing the school’s lack of communication concerning McKinney’s hiring and lack of transparency about the past incident in Florida. She expressed hope that this situation will be resolved and her daughter can return to TCCA.

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