Terri Cooper, the superintendent of the RSU 21 district that includes the town of Kennebunk, ended her controversial five years at the helm of the York County school district on Wednesday by resigning to the local board, which quickly accepted her notice of departure.

“I’m sobbing with relief,” said Kennebunk parent Melissa McCue-McGrath. “My child has suffered under the leadership of this administration,” she added.

“We are hurting,” another long-time teacher said at a school board meeting last year.

A school board member in charge of human resources resigned last year saying she felt her family’s safety was in danger, and an assistant principal also quit, citing an unbearably toxic work environment.

30 teachers and ten staff left in recent years all saying problems with administration were the cause of their departures.

As parents and teachers chafed under Cooper’s tenure at RDU 21, her supporters say she was good at one thing: public relations surrounding DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion).

Most recently, Cooper had pledged to stand firm in defiance of calls to end biological males competing in female sports in the district, angering many parents who agreed with the recent federal executive order protecting women in sports and feared the potential loss of funding.

“Our community thrives when we embrace and celebrate our differences, when we see each child’s unique journey as worthy of protection and respect,” Cooper said last month.

Apparently not everyone in Kennebunk agreed.

The RSU school board announced it has begun a search for a new superintendent and hope to fill Cooper’s position over the summer.