Adams 14 school board member Bill Hyde, who was under investigation for an incident in which he grabbed a student by the arm, resigned Wednesday.
In a written statement announcing his resignation Wednesday, Hyde indirectly referenced the investigation.
“My contribution has been far less than what I had hoped for and I see little opportunity over the balance of my term for circumstances to change,” Hyde wrote in a statement.
Last month, Hyde, was visiting a classroom at Monaco Elementary where his wife was substitute teaching. School officials called deputies after a child reported that he was hurt by Hyde. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office decided not to pursue charges.
District leaders hired their own investigator to look into the incident and banned Hyde from any district classrooms during the investigation. As of Friday, the investigation was still ongoing.
Hyde maintained that he acted appropriately, and had asked for a quick resolution to the investigation.
Hyde was first elected to the Adams 14 school board in 2017, and his term was set to end in 2021. In his time on the board, Hyde was often a minority voice, criticizing the administration and the board for a lack of transparency. He was also vocal against charter schools.
Most recently, Hyde was a member of the community team tasked with reviewing and recommending an external manager to run the district. Even before joining the group, he advocated for the selection of Mapleton, a neighboring district, as Adams 14’s external manager.
The state ordered the troubled Adams 14 district in November to hire an external manager to give up much of its authority to try to improve the district’s academic achievement. The Adams 14 board this month selected the Mapleton district as the external manager, but the state Board of Education must also vote on upholding the selection next month.
Hyde is the second board member to step down in the past year. Former board president Timio Archuleta resigned in June citing a need for new energy and ideas to lead the district.
According to state law school boards have 60 days to appoint a new member to fill a vacancy. The law does not specify how a board should seek out candidates for appointment.