Montville ― The town’s Board of Education on Wednesday night accepted the retirement of Superintendent Laurie Pallin and established a new search committee to find her successor.

The search committee features the nine school board members. In its first private session, held directly after the meeting, school board Chair Wills Pike said Patrice McCarthy, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Board of Educations, had briefed the committee on the “nuts and bolts” of beginning to search for a new superintendent.

Pallin was also present at the search committee meeting. She said she was there to help assist the committee in starting the process of looking for a new superintendent, but will not be part of their meetings going forward.

Before that, during the public meeting to accept Pallin’s retirement, Pike applauded Pallin’s “devotion to the Montville community,” and said that she has achieved many milestones for the school district.

“I have appreciated having the opportunity to serve the Montville School District,” Pallin told the room of board members, McCarthy and Mayor Leonard “Lenny” Bunnell.

She had announced in a Jan. 18 letter to members of the town and Board of Education that she will retire from her position in June.

In her letter to the board, Pallin wrote that she was honored to have served the “remarkable community” for so long, and that her decision to leave had not been an easy one. She served 32 years as a teacher and administrator here, including six years as superintendent.

“I am most grateful for the countless and rewarding opportunities provided to me in Montville, as well as the leadership entrusted with me,” she wrote.

Pallin has been superintendent since April 2018, at which time she was appointed temporarily to fill the role of former Superintendent Brian Levesque, who was placed on paid leave for claims he failed to report classroom fights that occurred under the supervision of a substitute teacher Ryan Fish.

Levesque had ultimately negotiated a severance package worth more than $230,000 and resigned from the school district in October 2018.

Pallin was named to the position full time in January 2019. She had worked for the school district since 1992, when she was hired as a science teacher at the high school. For two years prior, she had been a substitute.

“When I first came to Montville as a long-term substitute teacher 34 years ago, I knew it was a special place, and I have happily devoted the vast majority of my career to promoting the success of Montville’s students and schools,” Pallin wrote.

She went on to reflect on the roles she’s held in the school system since then ― teacher, director of curriculum, assistant superintendent and superintendent ― adding that with each one she has “appreciated and welcomed new challenges.

“As a classroom teacher, I took great pride in my daily work with students and I am awed by the successful adults they have become. It is amazing to hear of their endeavors and work with them now as parents and community members,” she added.

“As superintendent, I supported our schools in navigating the pandemic and achieving a new level of innovation and resilience,” she wrote.

“While it has been a very difficult decision to make, I know this is the right time for me to don my black and orange Montville gear as an enthusiastic supporter rather than a participant! I look forward to spending increased time with my family and grandchildren while continuing to cheer on the district,” Pallin wrote.

“I will always be proud to have been a part of Montville Public Schools.”

Editor’s note: This version corrects information about the search committee membership.

d.drainville@thedaycom