New Richmond Exempted Village School District’s superintendent is retiring.

Adam Bird, who has been the school district’s superintendent for the past nine years, delivered his letter of resignation to the school board on Dec. 14, 2018.

Bird’s last day will be July 31.

He explained his reason for leaving the post.

“I am eligible to retire, and I am ready to do that,” he said, noting that he’s been working in education for the past 32 years.

Bird is 53 years old.

Bird’s resignation comes as the school begins its process of deciding the fate and future of the school district.

A 10-year study of the district shows zero growth in student enrollment, and combine that with declining revenue from the closing of the Beckjord coal-fired power plant and the devaluation of the Zimmer plant, and you have what Bird has previously described as “a perfect storm.”

The school district has been working with Elevar Design Group since the summer of 2018 to engage the community in developing a process and plan that will allow the school district to deal with its forecasted deficits through closing buildings, changing grade configurations, analyzing open enrollment, consideration of an operating levy, program offerings and more.

Bird said that all this did not weigh on his decision to retire.

“I’ve got a lot invested in the New Richmond community .. and I have a lot of interest in seeing these financial issues be solved, and I want the school district, in which I reside, to continue to be a great school district, and I think that we’ll find a way through this, and so it’s important to me that these revenue issues get solved for the betterment of the New Richmond community,” Bird explained.

The school district recently lost another of its top administrators when Mike Mowery, former treasure, retired at the end of the year.

When it comes to finding the school district’s next superintendent, Bird said that the school board is set to consider a contract with the Ohio School Boards Association to conduct a search for Bird’s successor.

The search process could cost the school district an estimated $10,000.

New Richmond Exempted Village School District’s Superintendent Adam Bird is set to retire from his position on July 31, 2019. Photo provided.

https://www.clermontsun.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_Bird-resigns-PIC.jpg

New Richmond Exempted Village School District’s Superintendent Adam Bird is set to retire from his position on July 31, 2019. Photo provided.

By Megan Alley

Staff Reporter