Bellevue School District Superintendent Tim Mills will retire at the end of this school year, according to a letter released Friday.

“As we approach this new school year, I have made the decision to retire at the end of my current contract, June 2017,” he wrote in a letter to staff. “The Bellevue School District is a very special school district and I feel honored to serve the children, and community alongside our dedicated staff and board of directors.”

Mills had reportedly received an offer for another three-year contract from the school board, at which point he informed them of his intention to retire.

Mills was sworn in as superintendent in July 2012. He took the reins from Amalia Cudeiro, who served at the Bellevue School District superintendent from 2009-2012.

Prior to coming to Bellevue, Mills spent three years as the Superintendent of the North Clackamas School District in Oregon — a district serving more than 17,000 students. Prior to his role in Oregon, Mills was superintendent in the Mesa Valley County and Brush Public School Districts — both in Colorado. He served as a middle school principal and assistant principal in Mesa Valley County and began his career as a teacher in Colorado and Arizona.

The year will be Mills’ 40th year as an educator and 18th as a superintendent, he noted in his letter.