OCEANPORT - Borough School Superintendent James H. DiGiovanna will retire from the position he has held for the past five years effective Sept. 1.

The borough's' Board of Education took formal action on the matter at its Jan. 18 monthly meeting, according to DiGiovanna.

DiGiovanna wrote in a letter to the board that he arrived at his decision after countless hours of careful thought and consideration.

"I want to spend more time with my family," DiGiovanna said in an interview last week.

In the letter, DiGiovanna states that throughout the past 20 years, due to commitments that come hand-in-hand with the job as a school administrator, he has missed many events and quality time with his wife, four children and two grandchildren.

But, he added, his upcoming retirement is bittersweet.

"Soon I will not be doing one of the most enjoyable things I have encountered throughout my life, and that is working with children and educators in an educational setting," he wrote in the letter.

DiGiovanna began his tenure in the two-school Oceanport district in 2002, after serving in the school districts of Little Egg Harbor, Eatontown and Belleville.

Some of the accomplishment that DiGiovanna cites during his five years as superintendent include the successful passage of a school referendum and the recognition of the Wolf Hill Elementary School as a Governor's School of Excellence Award winner.

DiGiovanna said the Board of Education is expected to begin advertising for a replacement for his position next week.

"They are going to advertise throughout the state in an extensive process," DiGiovanna said.

"They will probably have somebody within the next several months," he said.