Schools Superintendent Jim Reitenbach to Resign

In a surprise announcement at Tuesday's meeting, Superintendent Jim Reitenbach said that he intends to resign on July 31, 2012.

"I've spent one-third of my career here," Reitenbach said. "Nine districts in 39 years, I've been here longer than anywhere else."

Reitenbach has been superintendent since 1999. He retired in 2009, and was immediately rehired at a lower salary while being able to draw his state pension.

"Without a doubt this is the best place I ever worked," said Reitenbach after the meeting. "It's a wonderful district and community. I have to thank everyone who has made it possible. It's a team effort -- the students, the staff, the teachers, the administration, the parents, the community. It's been an honor and a privilege to be a part of this district."

The board, in its resolution "reluctantly" accepting the resignation, noted that during Reitenbach's tenure, the district has been rated at least Excellent by the Ohio Department of Education for 11 year while being the third-fastest growing district in the state, from 1,556 to 4,078 students.

During that time, the resolution stated, Reitenbach oversaw the addition of 250,000 square feet of new facilities and improvements to existing ones. He also helped create the , which has raised more than $300,000 for the Avon Endowment Fund.

"His shoes are going to be hard to fill," said board president Kevin Romanchok.

The attempt will begin in the new year, Romanchok said. The board hopes to hire Finding Leaders, a Valley View company, to handle the search for a replacement.

"This is a very, very, very important position to fill, perhaps the most important one," Romanchok said.

The tentative schedule for hiring a replacement is an application deadline in mid-February with interviews being done in March. By late April or early May, Romanchok said, a decision should be made.