After 33 years in education, Lambton Kent District School Board Director Jim Costello has announced plans to retire.
Costello, who has held the position since 2010, says his last day will be July 31, 2019.
He says he's giving plenty of advance notice so the board can take time recruiting a new person for the role.
"We know we have a new board of trustees being elected with the municipal elections in October and our board was due to complete a new strategic plan," says Costello. "It was actually a good time for me to move on and try and find some other challenges in life and let someone else have a turn at being director."
Costello says he really had to adapt to new technology during his tenure.
"There's been a significant increase in student use of technology, social media has changed the way school boards communicate with parents, students complete work digitally... but in the end, teaching is teaching and student learning is still a priority in all schools," he says.
Costello says he plans to spend more time with his family and exercise more in retirement.
Prior to taking over as director from Gayle Stucke, Costello held the position of superintendent of human resources and superintendent of special education.
He was also a secondary school teacher and administrator.
Board chair Elizabeth Hudie says it's been a privilege to have Costello at the helm, and they appreciate his strong leadership and commitment to education.
She expects the board will begin planning for the selection of a replacement in September.
"We're probably going to review the regulations for the selection of a new director at the next meeting in September," says Hudie. "So we can sort of get a plan as to whether we're doing internal/external, or possibly using a search firm or not."
Hudie says the actual search will probably start in January after October's municipal elections.