BY SARAH HOFIUS HALL
Times-Shamrock Writer

The superintendent of the Mid Valley School District resigned Sunday night, effective immediately.

Jim Tallarico emailed his resignation letter to board members, citing “personal reasons” for his departure.

Tallarico served as Montrose Junior/Senior High School principal until becoming Mid Valley’s superintendent on Jan. 1, 2014.

“Everybody is kind of shocked at the whole thing,” Mid Valley board President Gerald Luchansky said Monday.

Luchansky and the board’s solicitor, Donald Dolan, met with district staff members on Monday to inform them of the resignation. The board will meet Wednesday night to accept Tallarico’s resignation and hopefully appoint an acting superintendent, Luchansky said. No decision on a search for the next district leader has been made.

A copy of Tallarico’s resignation letter was not available Monday. Luchansky told The Times-Tribune that the resignation letter would have to be obtained from the solicitor. Efforts to reach Dolan were unsuccessful.

In the letter, Tallarico “thanked us for the opportunity to be part of the district,” Luchansky said.

As superintendent, Tallarico had said he wanted to open the lines of communication in the district and treat the school district like “one big family.” He worked to alter student schedules to allow more time for academics, tried to improve school safety and dealt with budget issues. He is the former president of the Lackawanna Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Efforts to reach Tallarico were unsuccessful Monday. His salary was $105,000 last year.