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Amid a federal civil rights investigation of his district and allegations of racial bias from a colleague, the chief of Salt Lake City schools is stepping down.

Superintendent McKell Withers announced in a letter Friday to Salt Lake City School Board members that he will retire at the end of the school year.

"I am not planning on retiring my advocacy work for young people, their families, and the incredible professionals that teach and support them in our public schools," Withers wrote in the letter.

Withers, who has held the job since 2003, could not be reached for further comment Friday afternoon.

Withers has overseen Salt Lake City schools through a series of controversies, including the disposal of students' lunches in 2014, longstanding friction with board member Michael Clara, and a Department of Education investigation of civil rights complaints against the district.

"One of the things I look forward to is being able to speak more openly about the character and traits of certain public officials," Withers wrote in his letter, "and openly supporting candidates that model honesty, integrity and a desire to help young people become successful adults."

Board President Heather Bennett said she was surprised to hear Withers would leave.

"I heard nothing leading up to this that made me think he was not going to seek another term," said Bennett, adding that she considered Withers a good leader who put students first.

Bennett said the federal investigation is "neither unusual nor concerning." She believes it did not affect Withers' decision. Neither did the conflict with Clara.

"Everyone in the district, everyone on the board, all the employees have been worn down by the tension" at board meetings in recent years, she said.

Last year, Salt Lake City's Uintah Elementary School made national news after 17 students with inadequate lunch account balances had their meals tossed and were given fruit and milk instead. The lunch manager and her district supervisor were placed on administrative leave and did not return when school started this fall.

And last week, the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights confirmed it is investigating claims of discrimination, retaliation and unfair treatment of minority students.

The probe comes at Clara's request. He maintains that students of color are targeted for disciplinary action and that school-based police officers are disproportionately assigned to areas with high racial diversity. He became concerned when parents told him that full-time resource officers were stationed at Glendale and Northwest middle schools on the west side, but not at schools in the district's more-affluent neighborhoods.

Clara filed a complaint with the civil rights office in June.

Clara said he didn't expect the announcement Friday but was glad to hear it.

"It didn't happen soon enough," Clara said. "The district, from my position, has just been really mismanaged."

Since he was elected in 2012, Clara and his board colleagues have locked horns regularly on issues related to the treatment of minority students.

And the dispute has gotten personal. In April, Clara donned a sombrero and poncho to protest what he called an example of racial bias — a school safety officer assigned to monitor him at the request of Bennett. Bennett maintained Clara had become aggressive during a phone call, making threats and shouting profanities.

The incident indicates a larger sentiment in the district, Clara said, that criminalizes people of color.

During Tuesday's Trib Talk online video chat, Withers maintained district administrators and employees are doing their best to cater to a diverse student population that includes many students with a broad range of backgrounds.

Twitter: @anniebknox