Campbell Union School District Superintendent Eric Andrew is retiring, effective June 30.

The 62-year-old has spent 7½ years presiding over 7,600 students in the district’s 12 elementary and middle schools.

Andrew said an ill family member led him to retirement.

“I had plans for hanging around for a few more years, but that changed,” Andrew said. “Family first.”

The announcement came during the May 4 governing board meeting.

“I had alluded to it,” Andrew said, adding when he actually told the board members they were “beyond surprised.”

The district’s governing board will have a special meeting on Monday to determine steps to fill the superintendent vacancy. Andrew said he will make some recommendations as to who the board should consider, but ultimately it will decide who to interview and hire.

Andrew began his career in education in 1979 in the Claremont Unified School District in Southern California, teaching kindergarten through sixth grade.

He said his passion for education was inherited from his family.

“My dad was a teacher and principal. My aunts were on school boards and active in school communities,” Andrew said. “It was in the blood.”

During his time in the Redlands Unified School District, Andrew was a principal for elementary, middle and high schools. Additionally, he was the director of student services.

Before coming to Campbell Union, Andrew was the assistant superintendent of educational services in the Glendora Unified School District from 2006 to 2010.

Andrew joined the Campbell Union School District in February 2010.

“At the time I didn’t know where (Campbell) was,” Andrew said, adding that a recruiter reached out to him to apply for the superintendent’s job. “I hopped on a plane to see the area before I applied. I fell in love with the district and the community.”

Andrew also teaches in the leadership educational administration program at San Jose State University.

Andrew said he will stay in Campbell during his retirement, adding that he’ll miss many of the people he’s interacted with on a day-to-day basis at the schools.

“I’ll miss the kids, the people I worked with and the relationships (the district) was able to forge with the school community, parents and stakeholders,” he said.

Andrew has helped earn the district several local and regional awards for educational equity, English Language development and parent education.

Andrew and his wife reside in Campbell and have four grown children and three grandchildren.

The Campbell Union School District educates students living in Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, San Jose and Saratoga at 12 elementary and middle schools.

The new superintendent will have one big immediate task on a to-do list; the transformation of Campbell Middle School into a K-8 school. The district is still planning how to add grade levels and where to house them on the Cherry Lane campus.