TURNER – The superintendent of Turner, Greene and Leeds schools has announced his resignation effective in June, citing the burdens of the job and philosophical differences with the way education is going.

Thomas Hanson, a Turner native who graduated from Leavitt Area High School in 1972, will complete his fourth year as superintendent of SAD 52. This year also marks 31 years in education, 17 years as a teacher and 14 in administration.

“The time for retirement has come,” he wrote in a letter of resignation to the school board.

Hanson was not available for comment Monday.

He wrote in his resignation that the position of superintendent demands long hours and presents many challenges. “Those two aspects of the job take a toll on a person, both physically and emotionally.

“In addition, my philosophical disagreements with some aspects of the direction of education today and with that of some pertinent groups have taken a toll on me as well,” Hanson wrote.

His tenure as superintendent has not been without controversy. During 2005-06, parents of Greene Central School first-graders voiced concerns for the safety of their children. There were incidents of students hitting, spitting and swearing in the classroom. Parents cited concerns for the “academic, emotional and physical well-being” of their children.

Hanson responded with a detailed plan for dealing with misbehavior. But parents scoffed at the plan for being repetitive of the previous year’s attempt at order.

During a July interview, Hanson said some children were not being taught how to behave in school. But school officials can’t tell unruly students not to come to school, he said.

“No Child Left Behind says you’re going to take every single kid who comes through that door,” Hanson said. When students act out, they’re not “out,” he said. “We’ve got to find some other method to try to make this work.”

Last spring Hanson also closed the River Valley Alternative School because it was “not working.” Of the school’s 31 students, only 12 were passing. On top of that, tiny class sizes of three to five students meant River Valley was not sustainable, he said. A re-designed regional alternative school is expected to open in the fall of 2007.

Betsy Bullard, chairwoman of SAD 52’s board of directors, praised Hanson’s work as superintendent.

“Mr. Hanson’s tenure in MSAD 52 has been one of integrity and insight,” Bullard said. “He has guided our district through unquestionably challenging times in education, and will be missed by both the district and the larger educational community.”

Hanson also discussed in his letter “the matter of family,” noting that close family members are now spread from Pennsylvania to Florida to Europe. “I obviously yearn to spend more time with all of these family members while I am able, something the long hours of the superintendency make next to impossible.”

He thanked the board for its support and expressed his special thanks “for the opportunity to return to the schools I attended and serve as their superintendent.”

Before coming to SAD 52, he taught math and physics, coached several sports and was principal-superintendent of Monmouth High School and the Monmouth school system.