CORTLAND, Ohio - A Cortland man charged with crimes against three family members has resigned as superintendent of a school district in western Ohio.

During a special meeting on Friday, the Tiffin City School Board has accepted the resignation of 48-year-old Van McWreath, who only recently had resigned as a principal in the Painesville School District to accept the Tiffin job.

McWreath faces three counts of unlawful restraint for allegedly blocking his wife and two stepdaughters in the basement of their Cortland home.

Tiffin school officials announced on Friday that McWreath resigned for personal reasons and the board immediately appointed Dr. Michael Zalar to replace him.  Zalar had been one of the finalists in the board’s search for a superintendent.

As part of a settlement agreement, the board will pay McWreath $52,500 to “avoid costly litigation”.

An August pre-trial hearing has been scheduled for McWreath in Trumbull County Central District Court.

According to state records, since first obtaining his teaching license in 2000, McWreath has worked in the Ashtabula City, Pymatuning Valley, and Painesville School districts.