DAYTON–Superintendent Guy Strot pointed to two factors that prompted him to seek a new school and community after two years at the helm of the Dayton School District.

"I think by me leaving," Strot said, "I'm hoping people can move on and worry about student learning first instead of people. I'm hoping the community, staff and parents can get together and realize that our job is kids and their education."

A second and more impactful motivation for Strot was the unexpected toll he felt due to the separation from his kids and grandkids. "I have grandkids in the Portland area and my daughter and son-in-law live in Hermiston," Strot said. "From here, it is four and a half hours; from Wishram, it's an hour and ten minutes."

Strot has been hired to serve as superintendent and high-school principal at the Wishram School District, a district and town of about 530 residents on the Washington side of the Columbia River, a short distance upstream of The Dalles, Ore.

Strot submitted his resignation to directors of the Dayton School District, the Dayton Chronicle learned last week, and directors, at a Special Meeting at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 27, accepted the resignation.

He is replacing a superintendent who is stepping down from the position to return to the classroom, a situation he characterized as a "casualty" of the situation school administrations across Washington state have dealt with due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He began his stint in Dayton on July 1, 2020 and he will finish out the remainder of the school year, serving until June 30, 2022.