Dowagiac Superintendent Mark Daniel officially submitted his letter of resignation to the district school board on Monday, announcing his intentions on leaving in July.

Earlier this month, Daniel announced  he would be leaving Dowagiac to become the new superintendent of McLean County Unit District 5, which is located in McLean County, Ill. The McLean School Board unanimously approved Daniel’s hire on March 6. He will begin his new position on July 1.

In his letter to the board, which was read by President Michelle Helmuth-Charles, Daniel expressed appreciation for the experience he gained in his four years of service with Dowagiac Union Schools.

“I resign with mixed emotions, as Dowagiac Union Schools and the board of education, in particular, have been a positive and direct influence me over for four years,” the letter said. “The knowledge and experience I have gained from an outstanding group of administrators and staff will greatly benefit me in my administrative career at Unit 5.”

Daniel said in his remarks that he will assist the district in whatever capacity he could in the search for his replacement.

“There will be a lot of work to do the next three months,” Helmuth-Charles said. “We’ll keep the metal to the grind as we move forward.”

The board is currently formulating plans on how to proceed in finding a new leader for the district. Preliminary discussion among members has generated a number of possible starting points, such as hiring a search firm, posting the job position or asking for assistance from the Michigan Association of School Boards.

“MASB will help eliminate some of the costs associated with going through a search firm,” Helmuth-Charles said. “I have some research I am doing with them to see what kind of services they can provide, and to see what candidates are out there.”

The president said she and the board will continue to discuss these options throughout the week.

“This is the time now where we have to get into deep thought and make a decision on how we are going to move forward,” she said.

The board also publicly thanked Daniel for the work him and his administration have accomplished over the last four years.

“We do say thank you for your time, energy and our learning experience, as we’ve been a younger board,” Helmuth-Charles said.

The board also honored its February Students of the Month, who include:

• Nick Saltzman, Dowagiac Middle School

• Salvador Blanco, Sister Lakes Elementary

• Tristan Howard, Dowagiac Union High School

• Hanah McCuddy, Justus Gage Elementary

• Aliayah Huddleston, Patrick Hamilton Elementary

• Kendall McCuddy, Kincheloe Elementary