Brookhaven Academy Headmaster Dan Boyce has tendered hisresignation to the school board but will remain until the end ofthe school year.

“(My wife) Shannon and I have been richly rewarded by ourexperiences while in Brookhaven, and we will always cherish thetime we spend here. However, with the expectation of our firstchild in March, we truly desire to be closer to our family,” Boycesaid.

Boyce and Shannon are from Rankin County and plan to returnthere.

The resignation will not affect the current school year, hestressed.

“Generally, new administrators begin in the summer preceding theschool year. I don’t see that changing here,” Boyce said. “I willstay until the end of the school year and my successor can beginwork this summer.”

The headmaster said he is not presently seeking employmentelsewhere, but would probably begin soon.

“I’ll probably begin my job search around the first of theyear,” he said. “I hope to stay in administration.”

Boyce is serving on the committee on select his successor. It isa common practice, he said, and his predecessor, John Gray, was onthe committee that selected him.

“That’s not uncommon,” he said. “A sitting administrator is morefamiliar with the characteristics of his school than anyoneelse.”

The selection committee has a strong list of potentialheadmasters, Boyce said.

“The committee has numerous candidates who have been contactedand expressed an interest in filling the position,” he said. “Iknow many of them and any of them would be a good headmaster.”

Boyce said with more than six months to select a new headmaster,the committee is not overly concerned about picking a successorquickly, so it may be some time for a replacement is announced. Thecommittee has, however, conducted some initial interviews.

“I think it’s more important that the right person be found thanany specific timetable be met,” he said.

Boyce officially notified the school board of his decision lastmonth when he declined to renew his employment contract. They heldoff on announcing the resignation to help avoid any disturbance theannouncement would cause at the school and to ease transitionworries.

Rumors of his resignation had begun to circulate in thecommunity, however, and they prompted Boyce and the board to makethe announcement now.

Boyce has served as a popular headmaster of the school for threeyears and was a constant presence at school functions andextracurricular activities.

“Three years ago while interviewing for this job I felt stronglyabout Brookhaven Academy’s mission of Christian education in thiscommunity. I feel even more strongly about that mission today,” hesaid. “We have a committed faculty and parents who support thatmission wholeheartedly and that has made my job my gratifying. Ithank everyone for that.”