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SANDPOINT — It was difficult, but Tom Albertson said his decision to step down as Lake Pend Oreille School District's superintendent is the right one.

The decision to retire, which was presented to the board earlier this week, came after much reflection and consideration, Albertson said.

The final decision came after Thanksgiving but after battling several health issues concerning his neck, and having undergone a second surgery, Albertson said it was time to step down.

Albertson's retirement will take effect on July 1, 2022. He told the board he wanted to give them ample time search for, and hire, the district's next superintendent.

"I am confident that the school board will be able to hire a great leader to help guide the district, parents, and community to continue providing a top quality education for our students," Albertson told The Daily Bee.

Albertson was hired for the post in June 2019 from a pool of three finalists following a nation-wide search.

Before being selected as the district's top leader, Albertson served as principal of Sandpoint High School for five years and as assistant principal for five years before that as well as serving as the athletic director. Prior to becoming an administrator, Albertson was a math teacher for 22 years.

Born and raised in Sandpoint, Albertson's grandfather came to the area and purchased his family’s cattle ranch in 1916. Now his grandkids are the fifth generation raised in Sandpoint.

He said he is proud of the opportunities the district provides its students both in, and out of, the classroom.

"Historically, our community has supported the education of our youth and I am confident that this will continue," he added.

In a letter dated Dec. 1, but accepted by the Lake Pend Oreille School Board on Dec. 14, Albertson thanked the board for believing in him to lead the school district over the last three years. It has been a pleasure, he told the board, to work for them and for the community during his tenure.

"Though we have faced challenging times of late, I have been blessed to work with dedicated colleagues throughout LPOSD, always amazed at the dedication and commitment to create the best learning environment and opportunities for our youth," Albertson wrote in the letter.

While the pandemic hasn't been easy on anyone, Albertson said he considered it an honor to serve the community and help guide its school system through the challenges.

"Even though the last few years have been difficult in making decisions on school operations, it has been my professional pleasure in guiding the district through these unprecedented times," Albertson told the Daily Bee. "I reached a point in my career in which I considered other passions I would like to spend more time on, which includes spending more time in the operations of our family run ranch."

While it has been a challenging time, as it has throughout much of the nation, Albertson said he considered it an honor to lead the district. COVID-related controversies over masking, vaccines and in-person or virtual learning did not play a role in his decision, he said.

"Even though the last few years have been difficult in making decisions on school operations, it has been my professional pleasure in guiding the district through these unprecedented times," he told The Daily Bee.

However, he said he'd reached a point in his career where he considered other passions I would like to spend more time on. Among those spending more time in the operations of his family-run ranch.

While there will always be challenges, Albertson said he is a firm believer that there is always a solution to every challenge. Among those challenges are recruiting and retaining staff due to the community's high cost of living, and addressing the district's facility needs.

"Recruiting and retaining highly qualified staff is a challenge and will continue to be a challenge due to the high cost of housing in our community," he said. "I am concerned that new employees to education will not be able to find or afford housing in our area."

The district's aging facilities is another challenge that district officials and the community will need to address, said Albertson.

"LPOSD does an amazing job educating students in our current facilities, but we will need to address the district infrastructure in the near future," he added.

The best part of his time as superintendent are the people he has gotten to work with, the community organizations he's gotten to collaborate with, and watching the district's "amazing staff" work with students.

"Student learning is the center of everything we do in our school district and I am proud of the opportunities we provide them," he added. "Just being part of educating generations of citizens is rewarding."

Among the challenging parts of the job are taking parents' perspectives into consideration while providing a balanced education for students, Albertson said. It also has been a challenge to provide the board with needed information and advising the five trustees on the decision-making process during "these difficult times of COVID," he added.

If he had one message to give the community and district staff, it would be a simple one, Albertson said.

"It has been an honor serving the last three years as superintendent in LPOSD," he said. "I appreciate the support from the community, the employees of LPOSD, and especially the school board."