CHESHIRE, Mass. — Superintendent of Schools John Vosburgh has confirmed his intention to resign after a year on the job.

 

Vosburgh formally told the Adams-Cheshire Regional School Committee on Monday that he plans to leave the district July 31. He had contacted committee members by email over the weekend. 

 

"It was not an easy decision and ... I do appreciate your willingness to take a chance on me," Vosburgh said. "Hopefully in this year I did some good and set things up to move forward and I will work hard to see that we continue down that path."

 

The former Taconic High School principal was hired last spring to replace then retiring Superintendent Robert Putnam. He'd described the post as a "prefect fit" for him and speculated it was a job he could retire from in another eight or 10 years. 

 

Vosburgh was one of three finalists chosen by a screening committee supported by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.

 

He said his reasons for leaving the position were personal and he could not give the district the time and attention it needed.

 

"Unfortunately the commitments up here are great and the district definitely needs someone to be here extensively," he said. "It is not something I'm able to do or provide you with right now without an expense to my family." 

 

He did add that he does not want to leave the district high and dry and will work toward wrapping things up before his departure.

 

"I know the timing is absolutely not good for anybody and I will certainly do whatever I need to do or what you need me to do to make any transition work the best we can," he said. "The work we are doing over the next few months will be to close out the school year but to then make sure we are ready to roll Aug. 28."

 

Chairman Adam Emerson did not put forth any plans Monday on replacing Vosburgh. He said members should make a decision at the next meeting whether to bring on an interim superintendent or begin the search process in earnest.

 

"We'll have to set up a search committee to get this under way like we did last time," he said. "We should get this going as quickly as possible."

 

The superintendent search process has become a regularity in the district and, since 2012, the district has been through three superintendents including Vosburgh. The regional district also last year toyed with the idea of sharing a superintendent with North Adams but the city's School Committee did not see that as workable at the time. 

 

In the past, the district has brought on an interim superintendent while it conducted a proper search.