CHAUMONT — Lyme Central School District Superintendent Donnalee K. Dodson will retire, effective Sept. 2.

"I've been talking to my family and decided recently that it was a good time to leave," Mrs. Dodson said.

She will leave at the end of the school year, using her vacation days thereafter. She said she had decided not to wait until she turns 55 in August so the school district can hire the next superintendent this summer.

"It was the best part of my career, being at Lyme," Mrs. Dodson said.

She said she has worked in the field of education 33 years, including 15 years as an art teacher in Albany.

Mrs. Dodson, a Schenectady native, came to Lyme Central in 2003 as a K-12 principal and athletic director.

She said there were hard times during her three and a half years as superintendent.

Last year, parents in the district gathered petitions calling for her resignation.

She was under fire for using foul language on the Jefferson County Web Board and for not adequately citing the source of information in her graduation speech that was posted on the school's Web site and in a newsletter.

Mrs. Dodson said the accusations were without foundation, and the issues with the parents were resolved.

"There were a lot of people operating on misinformation. We got beyond that and had a great year," Mrs. Dodson said.

She said that while she built many fond memories working at the school, two were most memorable.

"One was seeing our girls win the state soccer championship and the support the community showed them in the victory parade," she said.

The second, she said, was the school's success in U.S. News and World Report's Best High Schools 2008 search.

"We were awarded with a bronze medal. We achieved national recognition," Mrs. Dodson said.

She plans to spend her time in her garden and take care of the bed-and-breakfast inn she and her husband own in Three Mile Bay.

"I'm going to work on my garden," she said. "And I will be dedicating my time to my bed and breakfast at Lucky Dog Inn."