BY SOPHIA GONZALEZ
Staff Writer | Feb. 1, 11:23 a.m.

Cresskill District Superintendent Charles Khoury announced Monday his intention to resign as superintendent at the end of the school year.

"I like the community and the students a lot, but sometimes you get an opportunity that you can’t pass off," said Khoury. The opportunity was there for my family and I had to take it."

In an announcement Jan. 28 to the school board, Khoury said he had accepted an offer as district superintendent of the Ardsley Union Free School district in Westchester County, New York, for the fall of 2008. There, Khoury said he hopes to improve what he calls an already "great school district."

During his five-year tenure, Khoury was instrumental in the passing of a $31.02 million referendum project in 2005.

The project yielded the construction of a new gym and auxiliary gym, updated science labs and the nearing completion of 10 additional classrooms and a media center at the Cresskill Jr./Sr. High School.

The ventilation and heating upgrades were completed last year at the elementary level.

His other achievements include the creation of the Cresskill Community School, which offers enrichment programs to students and adults, as well as the restructuring of the Cresskill Jr./Sr. High School to accommodate a sixth grade from the Cresskill Middle School in the fall.

"We certainly are a different district today compared to who we were five years ago," wrote Khoury in a letter to parents last week. "And I believe that many would agree that we are a better district as well."

The school board has already explored several options, including hiring a recruiting firm to advertise and screen candidates in order to secure a replacement as early as May, Khoury said.

It is the school board and not the superintendent who appoints the replacement.

Through regular updates on the school Web site, the school board promises to keep students, parents and community members updated as to the progress of the new superintendent search.

"And I will certainly help in making sure there is a good transition," the superintendent said.

E-mail: gonzalezso@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6711