The Valley View Board of Education accepted the resignation of Superintendent Sherry Parr on Wednesday, more than a week after discussions toward that end were announced at a community meeting.

Board President Jesse Reed said Parr’s resignation was effective immediately.

“It was clear to the board that it was in the best interests of the students of Valley View, and our community as a whole, to move forward with a change in leadership,” Reed said.

It also was announced that William Kirby, who retired July 31 from Huber Heights City Schools after seven years as superintendent, would serve as interim superintendent at Valley View Local Schools.

“He has a wealth of experience and will be a perfect fit for the culture at Valley View,” Reed said.

Parr’s resignation came after members of the Valley View Teachers Association passed a vote of no confidence, and after more than 1,200 community members signed a petition asking the board for her resignation or dismissal.

Reasons cited for the petition included Parr’s failure to answer specific financial questions and a “culture of retaliation” allegedly fostered by Parr.

Parr said Thursday that it was important to note that these are very difficult times for public school districts.

“Superintendents have to make tough recommendations to the boards of education, who are ultimately the decision-makers,” Parr said. “School funding is the biggest challenge in public education. Until some things change for funding in Ohio, the financial burden will continue to be on our taxpayers.”

Valley View is among the many districts that has a levy on the Nov. 6 ballot. The five-year, 6.97-mill emergency levy would collect $1.5 million annually for the rural Montgomery County district, and cost the owner of a $100,000 home roughly $213 per year.

Kirby, who starts at Valley View today, has signed on for one year at a salary of $90,000. He had been making $138,639 at Huber Heights.

He could not be reached for comment Thursday, which served as the last day of his 23-day retirement.

Parr was scheduled to start the final year of her three-year contract with the district this fall. As a result, Reed said that “Valley View will be honoring the remaining year of her contract at a reduced rate.”

Valley View Treasurer Dan Schall said the district negotiated a total payout for Parr that was about 30 percent less than her projected compensation.

“If we paid all her salary and benefits, the total would have been $150,000,” Schall said. “But, that’s not going to happen. The total payout is about $120,000, including all the benefits and extras.”

Parr, who was with Valley View for 10 years, made $100,171 in salary in 2011. That was less than the $111,301 she made in 2010, before she retired and was rehired by the district.

Schall said Kirby’s reduced salary likely is a function of his retire-rehire status, as well.

“I’m really excited to work with him, and very pleased with the direction he can take the district,” Schall said of Kirby, who has been in education for 39 years and superintendent for 14.

Huber Heights City Schools, a district serving more than 6,000 students, has been rated “Effective” on the Ohio State Report Card since the 2002-03 school year. For 2010-11, 39.5 percent of the district’s students were listed as “economically disadvantaged” on the state report card.

Valley View has earned the state’s highest report card rating, “Excellent with Distinction,” for the last two years, and was rated “Effective” from 2000 through 2009. The district had fewer than 2,000 students in 2010-11, with 17.2 percent of that population flagged as economically disadvantaged.

Parr said she “thoroughly enjoyed” being the superintendent of Valley View for the last 10 years.

“We have a lot to be proud of, particularly our ‘Excellent with Distinction’ honors,” she said. “I wish the best for Valley View students, and continued success in all realms of their education.”

Valley View students start classes for the 2012-13 school year Sept. 4.