Tarr steps down as Houlton Southside School principal

HOULTON, Maine — Houlton Southside School will need to find a new principal following the resignation of current principal Jason Tarr at the end of December.
Tarr confirmed Thursday that he has resigned from his position and has informed his staff of his decision to leave the school. His last official day is Dec. 31, but since school will be closed for the holidays, his final day with students will be Dec. 23. He has served as Southside School Principal for four years.
    “I’m not planning on going anywhere particular,” he said. “I don’t have another job in the works or anything.”
The SAD 29 school board has yet to act upon Tarr’s resignation, but the administration has already begun formulating a plan of action.
“I will be working with the board to see which way we want to go to fill the position,” Superintendent Mike Hammer said. “Possibly an interim, possible a restructure or temporary arrangement to give us some time to do a search. We are also going to be trying to get some information on what the needs of the school, teachers and district are.”
Tarr said he offered to provide additional help after his Dec. 31 departure. He added his decision to leave was not predicated upon any feelings of negativity toward his current employer.
“If I were going to stay in the education field, this would be the place for me to stay,” he said. “I’ve been blessed with a great staff and group of students since I got here.”
Tarr joined the staff at the start of the 2007-08 school year. Prior to that, he worked at Palermo Consolidated School near Augusta, where he worked for four years. He worked in central Maine for about 10 years. He also taught at Limestone and Hodgdon before becoming an administrator in Ashland.
A native of Oakfield, Tarr graduated from Southern Aroostook. He returned to his hometown and built a house next to his childhood home.
Tarr and his wife Alyssa have talked about devoting themselves more to their religious interests for a couple of years now, but until this point, the timing was never quite right. They have one son, Wyatt, who is 6 years old.
“It’s just the right time,” Tarr said. “It’s really kind of hard to explain. I feel my wife and I are being called to the ministry or to serve God, but we don’t have anything specific lined up at the moment. It’s easy to sit back and say you are going to do it, but unless you have taken that leap of faith, you can’t understand it.
“I know this may sound crazy to some people, but this is where we are at and we’re both comfortable with it,” he added. “We are just going to have faith and see what comes our way. If that involves moving someplace, so be it. We are willing to do that.”
He has been a member of the Oakfield Baptist Church, where he has filled in from time-to-time as a minister.
Tarr said nothing happened to prompt him to resign from the district, other than God’s calling.
“I didn’t have an angry moment where I said ‘I can’t take it anymore,’” he said. “It’s nothing like that.”
He said he would miss working with the staff and interacting with the students on a daily basis.
“I’ve been blessed over the 20 years in education,” he said. “I have worked in seven or eight school districts at all levels and sizes.”
Hammer said he has gotten to know Tarr in the short amount of time he has been with the district as its new superintendent.
“I have really enjoyed working with him,” Hammer said. “He is very knowledgeable regarding all aspects of the job. He has been instrumental with Candy (Crane, elementary principal) to handle the Title 1 reporting we have to do (federal money through NCLB). He has a great sense of humor and from my standpoint we are parting on very positive terms. I wish him all the best, and I assume we will hear more from him at some point in the future.”