Kaitaia College principal Jack Saxon has resigned, effective from the start of the next school term.
He, his wife Kirsty and children Ruby, Xavier and Lilian are bound for Methven, where he has been appointed principal at Mt Hutt College.
Mr Saxon said the decision to leave Kaitaia had been "incredibly difficult," and there was "significant guilt' that he was letting the community down, it was time to return to whānau in the South.
Since the death of his predecessor at Kaitaia, William Tailby, last year, the loss of connection with his whānau had weighed increasingly heavy, while the loss of his grandmother late last year and his grandfather early this year had reinforced how finite life is, and how important it was to surround his children with those closest to them.
"Adding further weight to this decision have been the increasing demands of the mahi in Te Hiku, and the impact this has had on my ability to play an active role with my children," Mr Saxon said.
