JAMESTOWN — Greeneview Superintendent Isaac Seevers thanked the school board and Jamestown community for their support as he prepares for a move to a new district.

Seevers, who has spent the last 12 years in the Greeneview district — the last eight as superintendent — was approved as the new Lebanon schools superintendent earlier this week. His resignation — effective July 31 — was approved by the Greeneview board during Thursday night’s meeting.

“It’s been my home for 12 years,” Seevers said during the meeting. “This is a very difficult decision for me and my family. We feel like its a good time for us and a good opportunity for us.”

Seevers was a candidate for the Lebanon job in 2016 and was going to be a finalist, but he pulled out of the process after the first round.

“The timing and circumstances are better for me personally and for Lebanon at this time,” Seevers said in an email to the Gazette. “I have children in seventh grade, fifth grade, and third grade and this is a good time. We didn’t want to move them while they were in high school so there was a window (where) we were willing to move.”

Seevers came to Greeneview in 2009 as the head football coach and high school math teacher. He became high school principal after then-superintendent Joe Parish encouraged the move.

“I remember telling him that I wasn’t ready to give up coaching or teaching because I didn’t want to move too far away from the kids at the classroom level,” Seevers said. “His encouragement allowed me to think about how my impact could expand if I was leading the building. As a teacher and a coach I worked with 150 kids, but as the principal, I had the ability to lead an entire staff and more than 400 students. I am thankful for that encouragement and the buy-in of the high school staff who followed me as we worked to move Greeneview High School forward.”

When Parish resigned as superintendent in 2013, Seevers was urged to apply for the opening.

“Again, I wasn’t ready to take another step further away from students because my passion was helping students learn and grow,” Seevers said. “Joe had positioned the district in a good place as he retired and the administrative team was supportive of my candidacy because it allowed us to stay on that path and build on the momentum we had. I will forever be thankful to that original administrative team that supported me as I learned on the job.”

Despite the excitement of a new career opportunity, it’s bittersweet for the Seevers family.

“We have a lot of red and blue in the house,” Seevers said. “It’s all my kids know.”

Seevers did promise to give the district his full attention even as his tenure winds down.

“This isn’t like other jobs where you give a two weeks notice and you leave,” he said. “I’m going to fulfill my contract and be a part of what’s going on here.”

Board member Suzanne Arthur thanked Seevers for all he has done for the Greeneview district.

“Your leadership has been excellent and very professional,” she said. “I’vve had the opportunity to work with many superintendents and many administrators in my career as a teacher … we have been very fortunate.”

The board has not yet released plans to search for a new superintendent.