WESTHAMPTON — Aaron Osborne will wrap up his tenure as superintendent of Hampshire Regional School District at the end of next week, according to a resignation letter sent Friday to School Committee members.
In his letter, Osborne gives a 60-day notice and says that with Labor Day and Columbus Day taken into account, he is left with 45 workdays. Osborne then gives the intention of taking 35 of his 63 vacation and compensatory days off.
“This would bring my last day effectively to August 28th and I would be paid and receive benefits through October 13, at which point I would be paid out for the remaining 28 days of previously accrued vacation at my current daily rate of pay,” Osborne wrote in the letter.
Osborne, who was hired in the spring of 2018, announced last November that he would not seek renewal of his contract. The announcement came after 96 faculty and staff members in the Hampshire Regional High School building voted no confidence in his leadership and after a letter was sent from faculty and staff in the building to district School Committee members claiming that Osborne had created a “toxic work environment.”
Osborne’s contract is set to expire on June 30 of next year. However, in his resignation letter, Osborne stated that at least two districts have expressed a desire not to renew his contract “and I have been compelled to agree not to seek such.”
“Therefore, I must presume that it is in the interest of all parties that I vacate the position with haste,” Osborne continued in his letter. He did not respond to calls or emails seeking comment.
Westhampton School Committee Chairwoman Brigid O’Riordan said that the committee will discuss a replacement plan as the different school committees meet.