North Louisiana school district leader to retire

MANY, La. (AP) — A north Louisiana school district's leader is leaving at the end of the year.

Sabine Parish schools Superintendent Sara Ebarb announced Tuesday her plans to retire on Dec. 31.

Ebarb said she made the decision after much “prayer, deliberation and discussion” with her husband and family, news outlets reported.

Her husband is retiring for a second time on June 30 and wants her to retire, too, she said in a statement Tuesday.

“The Lord has blessed me with a long and successful career. There have been some very difficult and challenging times, but most of the time, it has been my joy to be an educator in every capacity in which I have served,” Ebarb said.

Ebarb said it’s been an honor for her to serve with the Sabine Parish School Board, Central Staff, administration and school staff. She's held the post since October 2011.

“On behalf of our school board, I sincerely wish Dr. Ebarb a happy and well-deserved retirement. She has served Sabine Parish well and we will all hate to see her go. We thank her for her dedication to children, staff, and our community,” board President Terrell Snelling said.

She said she hopes the board takes steps to hire a superintendent in the fall so she can work with the new person on a seamless transition.

“I have every confidence that Sabine will continue to be a great district, in spite of obstacles that will come. Sabine has great employees, a fine central staff, excellent administrators, great teachers, and wonderful students! Our parish will continue to do well because the people will do well. I will pray for the next leader and their success, and I thank all staff for their fine work,” Ebarb said.