NILES — A long-time member of the Niles Community Schools board of education is stepping down from his position.

Greg O’Toole stepped down from the board on Friday, as he and his family relocate. O’Toole joined the board in the fall of 2009 and was reelected in 2014 for a six-year term ending in 2020.

“We are deeply grateful to longtime board member Greg O’Toole for his 10 years of service and wish him well on his next steps. Greg was the first board president in my tenure as superintendent, and I am incredibly thankful for his guidance, patience and leadership,” said Niles Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Dan Applegate. “He is passionate about student learning, innovation in the classroom and focusing on results to make educational and financial decisions.”

O’Toole is a former Michigan State Police officer and Notre Dame campus police officer.  He also worked at Southside School before bringing his leadership to the district level. O’Toole and his wife, Robin, have a daughter who graduated from the Niles High School in 2009. Robin O’Toole is a retired secretary who served the district for many years at several schools.

“The district appreciates the dedication and passion for excellence Greg has demonstrated in the past decade. Greg’s tenure spans four superintendents, but one constant was his commitment to the dramatically increasing the district’s diverse learning opportunities for students,” said Niles Community Schools Board President Dana Daniels. “He played a key role in the 2015 bond and school safety measures.”

In keeping with board policy, the vacancy will be filled by the board using the following procedure:

• The board shall seek qualified and interested candidates from the community through the news media, word of mouth and contact with appropriate organizations.

• All applicants are to submit a notice of their interest, in writing, to the superintendent.

• The board will push out a request for applications, review the applications and then vote on a successor. The successor will need to officially run for the position during the next regularly scheduled election session.