hen Bob McKenney arrived in Franklin in 2002, the high school had the highest dropout rate in the state. Now, it's an eighth of what it was - lower than the state average by a full percentage point.

So when McKenney, who is in his late 60s, told the Franklin School Board on Monday that this will be his last year as superintendent, a lot of folks took it hard.

But School Board Chair Kathy Fuller said she was grateful.

"I'm pleased that he stayed in the education world this long,"Fuller said. "It's a significant loss to the district. However, I feel he's left the district in a very strong position."

Fuller ticked off a list of of McKenney's successes. He's implemented an innovative reading program, assembled a top-notch administrative team and made sure that new teachers have mentors.

The signature accomplishment of McKenney's tenure might be the Academic Recovery Center, a special program for at-risk students that was his brainchild. Many say that the program is responsible for the reduction in Franklin's dropout rate.

In the 2000-2001 school year, Franklin High had the state's highest dropout rate: 16 percent in a single year, which translates to 50 percent over four years. In 2004-2005, the most recent numbers, Franklin had a 2.6 percent dropout rate for one year, or 10 percent over four.

In a note to the SAU, McKenney said he's retiring because he wants to spend more time with his family. Fuller said that McKenney told SAU officials about a month ago that he was considering stepping down, and the news wasn't much of a surprise to her.

"We've talked often about retirement and families and what families mean to you and how much time you actually have," she said.

McKenney, who did not return phone calls yesterday, brought a long and varied resume with him. A former Marine, he had a long legal career in the Boston area. He served as principal of a large high school in Vermont, and when he came to Franklin he was clear that this might be the end of the road.

"He told us when he came that he suspected this would be his last job in education," Fuller said.

Four years is not a particularly short tenure for a superintendent in Franklin, Fuller said. During her 12 years on the school board, Fuller has worked with three superintendents and two interim ones. Franklin's salary scale is one thing that prevents the district from being able to hold on to top administrators for very long, Fuller said. But in general, many superintendents don't stay in one place for very long.

But in four years, McKenney's certainly left a mark.

Bill Grimm, a former school board member and the founder of a now-defunct charter school in Franklin, said that McKenney has used his Marine skills to lead by example. McKenny instilled a whole new spirit of civility in the schools, Grimm said. When Grimm drops his son off at the high school, he most days he sees McKenney out front, greeting students as they enter.

McKenney often pops into classrooms, and seemingly everyone knows him by name.

"This is a man who, I can tell you, my second-grade grandson knows his name and doesn't hesitate to send him a copy of his little Red Sox newsletter," Fuller said.

Fuller said that her daughter, a reading and writing teacher in the elementary schools, was stunned by the news, as were many Franklin teachers.

"I think they were quite surprised and they were quite anxious about who we are going to get to replace him," Fuller said. "Who do you get to replace him? Nobody's going to replace him."

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