Bill Evans, former Beaufort County school board chairman and Hilton Head principal, dies
Bill Evans, who touched thousands of lives throughout Beaufort County as school board chairman and Hilton Head Island High School principal, died at his Lady’s Island home Wednesday night, his wife said.
Evans, 72, had experienced severe health problems over the past 18 months, including a stroke in July, but had made great progress, Melissa Evans said.
He had a productive day on Wednesday and had spoken to all his children in the past week, she said.
“He was literally here one minute and gone the next,” she said.
Evans resigned as school board chairman in October 2015 amid public uproar and board division over nepotism allegations against then-Superintendent Jeffrey Moss after the district hired Moss’s wife to a new $90,000 central office job. Members of the public and two board members had called for Evans to step down.
He later said his life was less stressful, but “maybe less fulfilling” because he had enjoyed his work with the school district.
Evans came to Beaufort County from Salinas, Calif., in 1986 to be principal of the still-new Hilton Head Island High School, a job he held for 12 years. He was then a Beaufort County School District administrator until retiring in 2010. During this time, he served as an ombudsman for the district, and interim principal at Battery Creek High School and Beaufort High School.
He ran successfully for the school board in 2010, saying he knew better than other candidates what works and what does not work in the district, and that his experience gave him “special insights into the challenges our families face.”
In the community, Evans was a volunteer with the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing golf tournament from 1987 until 2018, president of the Rotary Club of the Lowcountry, Eucharist minister at St. Frances Catholic Church, and volunteer at the Beaufort Water Festival.
Hilton Head Island High
William M. “Bill” Evans was born in Washington, D.C., but called York, Pennsylvania, home.
He held a master’s degree from Penn State University. His undergraduate degree was from Rutgers University, where he played on the golf team, part of his lifelong passion for the game.
He came to Hilton Head as a 39-year-old father of three with 17 years of experience in education — as a middle school teacher, a junior high principal and principal at Salinas High School, the alma mater of best-selling author John Steinbeck.
Katie, Robbie and Krissy — the three children of Evans and his late wife, Kathy — were enrolled in the elementary, middle and high schools on the island and the new principal met the public at the Lowcountry Auction, the Island School Council’s main fundraiser for public schools on Labor Day weekend.
He cited that community support for public schools as a reason he took the job.
And as principal at Hilton Head High, he stressed that it would take the whole community to make children succeed.
He joined concerned citizens in a move to “get children back on track” in what they saw as an era of weakening values and morals.
“Because of the erosion of the family structure, we have some real concerns over just who’s raising kids,” Evans said in 1991. “Who are they getting their values from? What are they using as grounds for making decisions?”
He supported a community-funded After-Prom Party for student safety.
He faced blistering criticism when he introduced a conduct contract for students participating in extracurricular activities at Hilton Head High.
The code, approved by the school board, made a strong statement on expectations, but also raised questions for parents. Could a student be removed from extracurriculars for having a glass of wine at home with the family? Or for attending a “keg party” thrown by other students without taking a sip of the beer?
He also tried to improve student behavior with Saturday-morning detention, where students could study with a teacher or clean up the school grounds.
“The kids are already complaining it’s not fair,” he said. “What I think they mean by not fair is that we’ve finally come up with a consequence that has some teeth in it.”
School board buzzsaw
None of that prepared Evans for the buzzsaw that came after the hiring of Superintendent Jeffrey Moss, and the dark cloud that hung over his five-year tenure in Beaufort County.
Evans was a vocal supporter of Moss as chairman of the board when Moss was hired, and when Darlene Moss was hired to the post of director of innovation. Evans had the most knowledge of any board member at the time about the circumstances surrounding Darlene Moss’ hiring.
Evans resigned soon after the backlash started, without making a public statement at the time.
“I thought (my resignation) might calm things down a bit, but I think it just gave them red meat,” Evans said later. “(Public outcry over the nepotism scandal) didn’t go away. It just snowballed.”
After resigning, Evans continued to focus on young people, working with the Neighborhood Outreach Connection, AMIkids Beaufort, and First Tee. He was involved with the Port Royal Sound Foundation, and numerous other nonprofits over the years.
Together, Bill and Melissa Evans have five children and eight surviving grandchildren. The eldest died in 2006 of childhood cancer.
Condolences on Facebook include this note from businessman and philanthropist Dick Stewart: “Wonderful gentlemen on every occasion. His interest in improving the lives of others was very inspiring. Sad day.”
Former school district spokesman John Williams wrote: “He always asked how my kids were doing, wanted to know about my wife and teaching, he always cared. I think that’s what I remember most about Bill, he cared. I think a lot of his former students at Hilton Head Island High would agree. He served with me on the board of trustees for AMIkids Beaufort, where he also cared about helping young men find a second chance.”
For retired Hilton Head Elementary School principal Hank Noble, the loss is personal.
“For me, it’s like losing a brother,” he said in an interview.
Last Sunday, Bill and Melissa Evans had brunch with Hank and Sue Noble in Beaufort. Then the two old principals sat for an hour in the sunshine on a Bay Street bench while their wives shopped.
“We did what we typically do,” Noble said. “We argued.”
They were going to get together the next Saturday to watch the Army-Navy game.
Someone walked by in a Hilton Head High Seahawks shirt and Evans said, “Go, Seahawks.”
In typical Evans fashion, that led to a long conversation.
“It was just a wonderful time,” Noble said. “I’m so glad we had that.”
This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 11:35 AM.
