Clear Creek ISD superintendent hammered by anti-CRT parents announces resignation

Clear Creek ISD Superintendent Eric Williams announced his resignation at a Monday night board meeting. Williams, who had been inundated by conservative parents who accused him of “indoctrinating” students with “anti-white” sentiment, said he is taking a leave of absence starting Tuesday to help care for an ill family member. Williams will return to help find and train his replacement. His role as superintendent in the district will officially come to an end Jan. 31. After a brief closed session, the board unanimously voted to accept Williams’ voluntary retirement agreement. The board unanimously voted to appoint Karen Engle interim superintendent effective Jan. 31. Engle retired from the district as superintendent in 2021.

“I am deeply grateful to all CCISD staff all they do day in and day out,” Williams said Monday. “I wish all the best to the district in its work to sustain and build on its excellence.” In December, Williams told the Chronicle he was setting roots in the Clear Creek community and planned to stay in the district for the “long haul.” He said he chose to move from a district with more than 83,000 students to one about half the size to be closer to family. Williams, who began his position in the district in February 2021, was followed by accusations of “indoctrinating” students with “anti-white” sentiment from his previous job in Virginia. While serving as superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools in northern Virginia, Williams and the large, affluent district became a flashpoint of right-wing activism over so-called “critical race theory.” Despite district attempts to make clear to parents that critical race theory is not taught within Clear Creek ISD, a group of parents in December called for Williams’ resignation, taking issue with a program called “Character Strong,” which is designed to teach children social and emotional learning, according to the district. “Our focus is not critical race theory,” Williams said to the crowd during a December board meeting. “It’s not in our curriculum or in our instructional resources.”