AUBURN - Superintendent John Plume will leave the Auburn Enlarged City School District this summer.

The school board accepted his retirement effective July 27 during Tuesday's meeting.

“My hope is to return to a teaching assignment,” Plume said. “I would like to finish my career as I started.”

Plume began his tenure with the district in 2001, but has invested 35 years in education. That career as a teacher, coach and administrator will continue in South Carolina, where he plans to move with his wife, Rebecca.

“This is a joint decision,” Plume said. “My wife and I have taken a look at things in terms of what we think is the most important.”

In addition to warmer weather, Plume said he looks forward to a more confined schedule as opposed to the 60-plus-hour work weeks he often logs as an administrator.

The decision to leave was a difficult one to make, he said. After graduating from Colgate and Syracuse universities, Plume settled in central New York.

“Auburn has been very satisfying in so many respects,” he said.

Plume counts the school's dedicated staff and faculty among the highlights of his time in the district.

“I think the very most important thing in a school system has to be the people,” Plume said. “The most important thing to me over the years has been the individuals we've brought in.”