A Lakeview Academy advisory committee will begin its search today for a new headmaster.

Lakeview Academy Board of Trustees Chairman Wade Beavers said about 20 people will begin the search to replace current academy headmaster Jim Robison during a Lake Burton conference.

The board did not renew Robison’s two-year contract this summer, Beavers said. He said Robison will finish out the year, his fifth year at the school, until a new headmaster or interim headmaster takes over next July.

Beavers said the transition in leadership comes as trustees aim to make Lakeview one of the Southeast’s premier college preparatory schools.

"This transition really isn’t to be interpreted as a referendum on him," Beavers said of Robison. "The board is incredibly confident that right now — and based in part on what Jim’s done and the academic platform he’s created — we’re poised to take an unprecedented leap into what we think are the elite schools in the Southeast."

Robison said he is pursuing leadership positions at other private schools, according to Lakeview communications director Sondra Berry. Robison declined to comment further.

"Dr. Robison did an amazing job engineering a leap forward in the school’s academic status and rigor when he was there," Beavers said. "And often, with less fanfare, he did a good job of adding depth to the culture with the honor code and convocation and those type things. And the school’s a better place and we’re grateful to him for it."

Beavers said the board of trustees hopes to have the new headmaster identified by Christmas.

"As we move into this new phase, we think a different balance of professional experience and perspectives is warranted," he said. "We’re looking for the perfect match to take us into this next phase. Our very clear intent is to find that right person and take Lakeview from where it is right now and move expeditiously toward those goals."