Gerald Boarman, the chancellor of the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, said today he is stepping down at the end of the school year.
Boarman said in an email to faculty and staff of the elite public high school that he is retiring from the school effective July 31, and will return to Maryland to spend more time with his family.
"It has been an honor to join arms with each and every one of you in serving the people of North Carolina and thousands of NCSSM residential and distance learning students over the last 10 years," Boarman wrote. "This is truly one of the finest academic institutions in the world, a place of character, tradition and excellence, and I am so proud to have been a part of it."
Boarman's tenure at the 29-year-old boarding school has been marked by controversy. Though it continues to attract many of the state's top academic students and performs well in national academic competitions, former faculty and staff have accused Boarman of building an administration of insiders who have seen their salaries grow faster than that of most state employees.
A News & Observer report in October found the school's administrative costs had grown nearly $1.1 million, or 46 percent, over the past five years. That growth was faster than the 36 percent overall growth in the school's budget, and much of the growth came in salary increases.
Boarman said the details of his retirement have not been finalized. "Please know that this has been a very difficult decision for me personally and professionally, but I look forward to hearing all that NCSSM has accomplished in the years to come and I know that I am leaving this fine institution in good hands," he wrote.
The school of roughly 670 students is overseen by the UNC system.
