After serving 21 months on two of Windham’s busiest boards, Selectman Galen Stearns has decided to resign from the school board.

In a recent letter to his school board colleagues, Stearns wrote that because of a new job and his responsibilities as a selectman, he can not devote the time necessary to serve on the school board.

“The number of meetings that are required are having a huge impact on my family, and I need to spend more time with them,” Stearns wrote, later adding: “I wish the general public knew the amount of time that everyone devotes to this position and the sacrifices that are made by all of you.”

Stearns, who currently serves as chairman of the board of selectmen, won a three-year seat on the school board in March 2005. His resignation goes into effect Jan. 1.

According to school board chairman Bruce Anderson, the school board is considering several residents and will choose one of them to replace Stearns. The person appointed would serve until March 2007. At that time, voters will elect someone to serve the remaining year of Stearn’s term.

Stearns was elected the same year Windham voters overwhelmingly approved building the town’s first high school, which is scheduled to open in 2009.

“I remain fully supportive of the high school project and know that there is still a long way to go and a lot of work required to make this a reality,” he wrote in his letter.