Rochester City School District board member Mary Adams will be resigning at the end of this month.
Adams joined the board in 2011. Her resignation takes effect on January 25th.
School board President Van White said he’s disappointed because Adams is a valuable member of the team and personally, a good friend.
He said it was her background in healthcare that brought a lot to the board.
"The mind of a researcher, the inquisitive, unrelenting pursuit of facts and data, she'll be hard to replace in that respect. That’s a skill set that I think developed over time and Mary used those skills during her time on the board."
With the election of Natalie Sheppard to replace Jose Cruz's spot in November, and Malik Evans' spot currently open after being elected to city council, the board will have three new members beginning in February.
White said there’s no denying it will change dynamics, but it’s something they will grow into.
"We got to this point because we developed relationships, and I suspect that with the three new board members that the board will develop relationships with them. It will take some time, as it did with Mary, but we'll get there."
The board received 17 applications for Evans’ seat, and White said they will choose from that pool to also fill Adams’ seat.
Adams cited dedicating more time to her daughter, who is entering middle school, and her new job at the University of Rochester’s Center for Community Practice as reasons for her departure.