World | Tue Feb 2, 2016 12:50pm EST

Detroit school system's manager to step down this month

DETROIT

Detroit Public Schools' emergency manager Darnell Earley is stepping down later this month, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said on Tuesday.

Earley, who has drawn criticism from the teachers union and black state lawmakers for the crumbling state of the city's schools, will leave the school district on Feb. 29, the governor said in a statement.

Earley, who had formerly presided over the city of Flint and its now lead-contaminated water system, has served as manager of the Detroit schools since January 2015.

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Under Earley's leadership as emergency manager of Flint, the city switched its water supply from Detroit to the Flint River in April 2014. It switched back last October after tests found high lead levels in blood samples from Flint children. Lead is a neurotoxin that can damage the brain and cause other health problems.

Earley has said he is not to blame for the problem since the decision was made before his tenure.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit and Karen Pierog in Chicago; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Richard Chang)