Jeff Lamb, director of district services and facilities for Grandview Heights City Schools, is resigning his position effective Nov. 30.

Lamb is leaving the district after nearly nine years to take a similar position in New Hampshire.

The Grandview Heights Board of Education accepted Lamb's resignation at a special meeting Nov. 18.

"I'm leaving with mixed feelings," Lamb said. "But I have a great opportunity and sometimes you have to go where your future leads.

"I'm so grateful to (former school board president) Suzanne McLeod and the school board that hired me and (former superintendent) Paul Kulik for giving me this opportunity," he said. "I've said to a few people that I cut my teeth on facilities here and I'll be forever appreciative."

Lamb provided invaluable leadership in the district's effort to maintain and manage its aging facilities, Superintendent Ed O'Reilly said.

"When you're in a district where all your buildings have been around for quite some time, like ours, you don't always find the buildings to be well-maintained and well-managed," he said. "But here you do find that, and that's largely due to Jeff's leadership."

Lamb was instrumental in developing a prioritized list of projects that have been completed over the last several years with funds from the facility component of the district's levy, O'Reilly said.

It was at the school board's annual retreat in January 2005 that Lamb presented a report that the district had $14- to $15-million in facility improvements and repairs that needed to be addressed.

"I was just telling (Board member) Gary Heydinger the other day how petrified I was before that meeting," Lamb said. "I was getting ready to tell the board all this bad news. I remember handing out the list of projects and none of the board members were smiling.

"I thought my job was in jeopardy," he said. "I told (then superintendent) Steve Allen about my concerns and he said, no, the board needs to and wants to hear this information.

"I thought there would be people lined up outside my office wanting to know why all these projects and why now," Lamb said.

But the community's support of the facilities levy demonstrated it understood the district had to take care of its buildings, he said.

"We've been able to do some things that are going to benefit the district long after I'm gone, and I'm proud to have been a part of that," Lamb said.

The assistance of the district's building committee was particularly helpful, he said.

Committee members Jack Liberatore and Leonard Whitley, both of whom have expertise about building and facility maintenance, played a key role in helping reassure the community the projects being proposed would be prudent use of taxpayer money, Lamb said.

The district has begun the process of hiring Lamb's replacement, O'Reilly said.

Applications will be accepted through the end of the month and interviews will be scheduled during December, with a goal of hiring a new facilities director in January, O'Reilly said.