At the start of his 12th year at the helm of Morris Central School, Superintendent Michael Virgil announced that he will be retiring June 30.
Virgil decided to make the announcement earlier this month to give the board of education enough time to conduct a search, he said. It will be discussed during an upcoming board meeting, he said. Virgil's salary is $120,000.
School board Vice President Gary Norman said, "We will miss him. He will be hard to replace."
Knowing about it now "gives us a head start, but we don't expect it to be easy," he said.
Virgil has been a "very talented" administrator, who finds the best way to hold costs down, Norman said, which has been especially appreciated around budget time.
Virgil said he started to realize the time was right to make his decision last spring. He will be 57 in June, and with 35 years in education, he decided to start focusing on other things, he said.
This includes spending more time with his family, including two grandchildren. Virgil started as a physical education teacher at Sherburne-Earlville Central School.
"I'm a person who has to be doing something," Virgil said. But it's too early to plan the next step, he said.
"There is still a lot to be done between now and June," he said. "I don't want to think about what is next."
The high point in his tenure has been the growth in the options available to high school students. The student enrollment has been fairly constant through the years, at about 470, he said.
But high school students have more choices in how they pursue their education, he said. This includes not only courses for students going on to four-year colleges, but also for those who need more of a hands-on experience.
Strong community support for school efforts and a good relationship with the board of education have also been highlights of his tenure, he said.
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