The superintendent of the William S. Hart Union High School District announced his retirement Monday.

Jaime Castellanos, who has led the Santa Clarita Valley's only high school district since 2005, will retire June 30.

"I think it's now time to refocus my energy on my kids and my wife," the 58-year-old said.

The Hart district's board hired Castellanos following a nationwide search for a superintendent to lead the 23,000-student district.

The school board has not formally discussed searching for a replacement, said board President Paul Strickland.

In the past, the district has looked both within and outside the district for a superintendent.

"I assume that's the direction we'll go," Strickland said.

The start
Castellanos became the Hart district's first Latino superintendent at a time when it faced obstacles with diversity and modernization projects.

"There were a lot of issues going on," he said. "As a team together, board and staff, we were able to get through some difficult times."

During his time, numerous Hart district campuses have been upgraded and modernized. The school district consistently performs strongly on California's standardized tests, exceeding state goals.

In 2008, local voters passed the $300 million Measure SA construction bond with the promise that it would build a high school in Castaic.

"He's lived through the modernization and the opening of the schools," said Leslie Littman, president of the Hart District Teachers Association. "We still have a top-notch district."

The reaction and future
Strickland, one of the board members who selected and hired Castellanos, said he was sorry to hear of the superintendent's decision to retire.

"He's done a lot of good things for our district," he said. "I was for him from the very beginning. ... For me, he brought something very special to our district."

Strickland said Castellanos has been able to connect with teachers, administrators and classified staff, and regularly tours school sites.

"It's just been a delight to work with him," he said.

Castellanos admitted on Monday that struggling with state budget cuts has been stressful.

"It takes a lot out of you," he said. "You really think about the impact they have."

Yet the struggles remain as the next superintendent will inherit sticky local issues, such as the building of a Castaic high school and weathering state budget crunches.

"I think the next person who comes into the district is coming into tough times," Littman said. "I think that the state budget is going to have an increasingly bigger impact on local schools and on our budget."