TRAVERSE CITY -- The superintendent of Elk Rapids Schools will resign "for the purpose of retirement" this summer, and cited a desire to spend time with his family.
Jon Hoover, who has led the Antrim County district since June 2000, said during a school board meeting Monday that he will step down effective Aug. 31.
In a letter sent to school board members and staff, also dated Monday, Hoover, 54, said he made the decision on Father's Day. Two of his three children attend Elk Rapids High School, and his oldest daughter is married with a son in Utah.
Across the region, including in Traverse City, school employees have postponed retirement because of the recession. Hoover said he weighed that reality as he decided to retire now.
"I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't have another job," he said, adding he would like to teach college. "I do have my health, I do feel young. My family is at an age where I want to be there."
He has worked in education for 31 years, beginning as an elementary teacher and principal. He later served as superintendent of the Alanson district, then known as Littlefield Public Schools.
Hoover earns $119,721 this year, and was under contract at least through the 2011-12 school year. He will receive a state pension beginning in September and a severance package from the board that will award him 1 percent for each year worked.
Board President Martha McGuire said she learned of Hoover's decision at Monday's meeting.
She hopes his replacement will be in place by the start of school in September, but said the board has not yet decided on search plans.
In the letter, Hoover vowed to help with the leadership change and intends to seek grants to expand Elk Rapids' International Baccalaureate program.
"I didn't want to leave the district in a lurch," he said. "Whoever the new person is, they don't have to come in and fix a budget gap."
The district's fund balance will increase by 1 percent next year, to 9.5 percent of the general fund, Hoover said. The 2009-10 year will see reserves rise by about $70,000 to $1.8 million.
Under his tenure, he boosted the fund balance from 3.5 percent in 2000, established an alternative high school and started a dinner auction fundraiser.
Hoover was a frequent visitor to classrooms, said Debbie Husband, whose sons Sully, 6, and Finn, 8, attend Mill Creek Elementary.
The boys this month completed their second year at Mill Creek after transferring when Traverse City Area Public Schools closed Bertha Vos Elementary.
"Everybody would run up and hug him," Husband said. "The personality of him will be missed, but I'm sure the structure will be strong."
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