Superintendent is retiring

Knott tells school board he will step down

Escambia County (Ala.) School Superintendent John Knott announced his retirement as of July 31, 2021, at last Thursday's board meeting.

Knott, who began his career as a special education teacher at W.S. Neal Elementary School, which he said he really loved.

"I absolutely loved the kids, the staff I worked with and really had not thought about doing anything other than that," said Knott. "I enjoyed it."

Knott had earned his master's degree in special education from Troy State University while he was teaching special education at Neal.

In 2004, W.S. Neal Elementary Principal Leon Hartley and...