Cedar Shoals High School principal Derrick Maxwell is resigning effective Oct. 29.

Maxwell announced his departure in an email to Cedar Shoals parents and staff today. Sources tell Flagpole he is taking a central office position in Barrow County.

The former Whit Davis Elementary principal was tapped to lead Cedar Shoals through a painful period of dealing with an alleged sexual assault on campus in 2016. But he was passed over for the position when it came time to hire a permanent principal. Last year, the position came open again, and he was hired.

But Maxwell had reportedly gotten on Superintendent Demond Means' bad side. In April board member John Knox met with Means to tell him that Maxwell is widely liked, and the community would be up in arms if he were fired. The meeting resulted in Means filing a complaint with accreditation agency AdvancEd accusing three board members of micromanagement.

Maxwell is the latest of about a dozen principals who have left the Clarke County School District in the past two years.

The Local School Governance Team, made up of teachers, parents and other community members, will choose one to four candidates for principal to send on to Means, who will recommend one to the school board for approval.

The full text of Maxwell's announcement is below: