North Colonie School Superintendent Randy Ehrenberg will retire at the end of this school year, the district announced Friday.

Ehrenberg has led the district for 81/2 years.

“To have played a role in the life of this district has been a tremendous privilege and an important part of my 42-year career in public education,” Ehrenberg wrote in a letter to district employees. “I am extremely grateful to have had this opportunity and fortunate to have worked with such outstanding colleagues, wonderfully supportive and dedicated Board of Education members, and a very positive parent/guardian community.”

Stephen King, district spokesman, said the school leader would not be available for comment until Monday. The district posted the news on its Web site Friday.

In her letter, Ehrenberg cited a renovated fitness center, newly designed counseling center and writing center, and the addition of a traffic light outside Shaker High School as accomplishments. The district has the highest credit rating of any in the Capital Region, she said.

“We have accomplished a great deal in the curriculum area,” Ehrenberg wrote. “Our elementary students now begin foreign language in grade 5.”

She hailed the district’s science research program and expanded art, music and physical education offerings.

During her administration, the district merged with the Maplewood school district.

Before her tenure ends, Ehrenberg wants to restore the North Colonie Foundation to help raise money to support the district.

The school leader wrote she will continue to work in education but will spend more time with her husband, who has commuted from Ithaca to Latham most weekends throughout her tenure. She also planned to spend time with her four grandchildren in the Washington, D.C. area.

Board of Education President Mary Nardolillo could not be reached for comment.

In the announcement, she is quoted saying: “During the last eight and a half years we have seen some of the district’s highest levels of student achievement in all programs district-wide, demonstrating her commitment to the educational mission of the North Colonie School District.”

The Board of Education will discuss the process and timeline for finding a successor.

“Our goal as a Board is to find a successor who possesses the extensive educational experience and strong leadership qualities that have distinguished Mrs. Ehrenberg as one of the most highly regarded superintendents in New York State,” Nardolillo said in the statement.

Ehrenberg’s salary is listed at $181,468 on the Web site SeeThroughNY, a list of public salaries compiled by the Manhattan Institute’s Empire Center for Public Policy. The year was not available.

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