Legendary Campton principal retiring at end of the year

CAMPTON — Longtime Campton Elementary School Principal Jim George has announced his intention of retiring in a letter to the Campton School Board at the Board’s Nov. 12 meeting. The retirement is effective Dec. 31 of this year.

George has been on medical leave since early May. Assistant Principal Dave Hamnett has been administering the building during George’s absence, and the School Board formally appointed Hamnett as interim principal upon receiving George’s letter.

Campton School Board Chair Danny Desrosiers said, “Mr. George is a legendary figure in Campton. He touched the lives of every family in this town for the past 40 years. His good work will live on in the lives of every student he worked with. His personal generosity and commitment to each and every child and to the greater Campton community will never be duplicated. I and everyone else associated with this school will miss his daily presence.”

Coach George, as he is known, began his career in School Administrative Unit 48 as a physical education teacher at both the Campton Elementary School and the Holderness Central School in the fall of 1980. He began full-time in Campton in the fall of 1983, and was named assistant principal in 1998. He became principal in 2004. In all, he served the students of Campton Elementary School for 40 years as teacher, coach, and administrator.

Members of the School Board discussed holding a community celebration to recognize his career, but wanted to coordinate the event date with George.