PARIS – After six years on the job, Thomas Cope is resigning as director of Oxford Hills Technical School.

Cope said Tuesday he and his wife, Virginia, have decided to move to Virginia to be closer to family. He will be taking a position as director of the Rowanty Technical Center in Carson, Va., an 800-student technical school serving three counties.

“It was a strictly personal decision,” said Cope, 52. “My wife’s parents are 79 and 80, and even though we do get to see them on holidays, we wanted to treasure the time we still have with them.”

The move will also enable the Copes to spend more time with their son, who lives in North Carolina, and other relatives in Pennsylvania.

“It was a really hard decision to make. I have a lot of respect for the people in this community and the support they’ve shown” for technical school training, he said. Cope told SAD 17 Superintendent Mark Eastman of his decision Wednesday and has called each member of the Oxford Hills Technical School Board of Directors to tell them of the news.

The board will act on the resignation at its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School.

Cope said he will suggest that the board conduct a New England-wide search and create a search committee that would include Eastman and the superintendant of SAD 39, the other district the tech school serves through its programs at OHCHS.

Cope credits a strong and supportive staff and board for keeping the tech school’s programs moving forward through tough budget times in recent years. Cope has made it a priority during his tenure to strengthen connections between the tech school and post-secondary educational institutions.

“I feel good leaving because I feel we’ve made a lot of strides over the past six years,” he said. Cope came on after the untimely death of the tech school’s first director, Jim McKinney.