Evanston/Skokie District 65 Superintendent Hardy Murphy announced today that he has resigned to go into consulting.

Murphy’s resignation was effective Friday, according to D65. He joined the district in July 1999 after 20 years with the Fort Worth Independent School District.

“The Board would like to thank Dr. Murphy for his 13 years of distinguished service and we wish him well in his future endeavors,” D65 board president Tracy Quattrocki said in a news release.

The board has begun a search process for an interim superintendent for the upcoming school year. The district said it will start looking next month for a permanent superintendent for the 2014-15 school year.

“While we realize this is a difficult time of year for a major transition, we believe the timing is best for Dr. Murphy given the opportunities he is considering,” Quattrocki said in the release.

In announcing Murphy’s resignation, D65 touted several initiatives backed by him, including one that teaches English- and Spanish-speaking students in the same classroom and another that offers counseling services to delinquent students instead of suspensions.

— Patrick Svitek