BREWER – The school committee did something on Monday that it hasn’t done in 35 years – it recognized the high school football team for winning a state championship.

“I’ve been waiting for a long time for this,” Ruth Spellman, who has sat on the school board for 25 years, said to the crowd of athletes, coaches, parents and others at Monday’s regular board meeting.

“I was a freshman at Brewer” the last time the Witches took home the title, Mark Farley, committee chairman, said.

Each football player, coach and cheerleader walked by the new, gleaming gold ball trophy, which was placed on the front table by head coach Ed Ortego, to receive a plaque to recognize their accomplishment. When Ortego was named, the crowd gave him a standing ovation.

“We finished with 39 players that not only didn’t mind hitting the tree, they loved it and came back asking for more,” Ortego said proudly of his players.

After the recognition ceremony was over, and the public comment portion of the meeting was held, the board accepted Ortego’s resignation as a high school science teacher and head football coach.

Ortego, a native of Louisiana, planned to go home during the summer to rejoin his wife, a nursing professor at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, but decided to stay one more semester in order to have another season with his team. He became head coach in 2003.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, four people spoke in support of the coaching staff for last year’s softball team under head coach Kelly Cookson, which is under scrutiny in relation to a possible court case.

A former player, Stacey Gomm, is claiming she was verbally abused, physically threatened and forced to walk barefoot through sheep feces in April and is asking for $1 million in damages from the city, school department, public officials and school employees.

The notice of claim document was issued in October, but no official court case has been filed.

“The coaches in this program taught us more than just softball: They pushed us to be the best we can be,” said Kate Hanlon, a recent Brewer High School graduate and former Witches softball player.

Hanlon said only half of the story has been told and volunteered to answer any questions the panel had concerning the possible court case.

“I am available at any time,” she said.

The supporters urged the school board to reappoint the softball coaches, which is a decision that will be made within the next month or so. No decision or comment about the issue was made during the meeting.

After a short executive session to evaluate new superintendent Dan Lee, the school committee renewed and extended his contract, which carries an annual salary of nearly $90,000.

“They extended my contract by five years,” he said after the meeting.

Lee, a longtime Bangor resident, started as the superintendent in Brewer during the middle of September. No changes were made to his wages or his benefits package.