JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The director of the Duval County Public Schools Police Department has resigned, the school district announced Monday.
Micheal Edwards submitted his resignation on Sunday and it became effective Monday.
Edwards’s resignation comes a little more than a month after a statewide grand jury studying school safety pointed sharply to the Duval County school district as an example of how not to handle crime reporting.
The grand jury report accused the district of underreporting crimes and gang activity happening inside its schools.
The grand jury report called out the Duval County School Police Department and the district’s administration for policies the grand jury said artificially reduced crime statistics by allowing “administrators without any legal training” to decide whether a crime is a “petty act of misconduct.”
In a statement released last month, Duval County Public Schools said the report is based on findings over a number of years and that improvements have been made to procedures in recent years. The district said it will seek an external review of its reporting practices to see whether charges are in order.
Edwards, a 30 year veteran of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, became Director of the Duval County School Police Department in 2015.
Assistant Chief Wayne R. Clark, Sr. has been appointed as acting director, the district said.
The district will conduct a national employment search to select the next executive director.