Canton schools superintendent resigns

CANTON, Ohio - The superintendent of Canton City Schools has resigned less than a month after the controversial firing of a high school football coach.

In a letter to the board of education, Dr. Michelle Evans announced her resignation from the position she has held since 2007.

“I regret that members of the board have lost confidence in my ability to lead the district,” Evans said, in the letter. “I feel my continued service as the superintendent of the Canton City Schools is serving as a distraction from our students and for this reason, I resign from the position of superintendent. ”

Before serving as superintendent, she was the director of testing, evaluation and research. Evans cited accomplishments like increasing McKinley High School’s graduation rate by 11 percent and Timken High School’s by 18 percent in her resignation letter.

The board of education accepted her decision on Monday, saying Evans was placed on professional leave. With vacation and sick time, she will still receive her regular pay until July 31.

“In the view of the board, Dr. Evans’ departure is the result of her own errors of judgment. We believe her departure is the correct decision to make for our schools, and most importantly, our students,” said Board of Education President Richard Milligan.

In mid-January, the board of education voted 3 to 2 to fire McKinley High School head coach Ron Johnson after four seasons on the sidelines and four playoff appearances. There were some who believed that race was a factor in the decision, since the three who voted to fire Johnson are black women, while the two who were in favor of keeping him are white men.

It in unclear if Johnson’s firing had anything to do with Evans’ decision to leave the school system.