AMHERST — A school board member just entering his second term resigned his position, saying his jobs as a teacher, coach and family man were simply getting to be too much.

Nicholas J. Dimacchia, 35, submitted his letter of resignation to the Board of Education last week. He cited a couple of school board meetings he missed because of parent-teacher conferences.

“My life has changed significantly over the last 4½ years,” he said. “Now I have a 2-year-old daughter. There were a lot of conflicts, and it just got to the point where they were more than I really wanted … I didn’t want to step down, but I thought it was best for myself and Amherst to step aside and let someone else who has the time step in. I just want to be home for my daughter.”

Dimacchia’s resignation was effective Feb. 25, the date of the letter, according to Amherst Superintendent Steve Sayers.

The board has 30 days to fill the vacancy and will accept letters from those interested through noon March 15. The board hopes to fill the seat at its March 22 meeting, Sayers said.

Elected in November 2005, Dimacchia served one four-year term before winning re-election to a second term in November.

Dimacchia, who lives in Amherst, is in his second season as head girls varsity basketball coach at Clearview High School, where he teaches special education and serves as faculty manager. It is the latter position that was really eating into Dimacchia’s time, he said.

“That job calls for me to cover every home event, game or activity we have here,” he said. “During basketball season, I am here at school pretty much Monday to Friday, often from 7:30 in the morning to 9:30 or 10 at night and sometimes even on Saturday.”

Sayers said he understood the conflicts.

“He’s been a very busy guy trying to balance everything,” Sayers said. “I always appreciated Nick and his support of me. He came on board when I was hired. I wish him the best. This has been a very difficult decision for him.”

Sayers said Dimacchia cared a great deal about Amherst Schools and the community.

“He had a lot of pride in the schools and wanted the best for them,” Sayers said.

Dimacchia previously served on the board of the Lorain County Joint Vocational School.

“In the first four years, we hired two new superintendents and a treasurer,” Dimacchia said. “There were a lot of meetings. It was pretty hectic.”

In June 2008, Dimacchia and his brother, Tony, opened the Dimacchia’s on the Corner restaurant and bar in the Broadway location formerly occupied by Lorain’s Ghoulardi’s Bar & Grille. The men signed a purchase agreement to buy the building from owner Gerald Mielcarek but were unable to come to terms on a purchase price. The situation intensified with a dispute over rent and water bill payments, which led to Mielcarek putting the building up for sale.

The restaurant-bar has since closed, and the squabble with Mielcarek is now in court.

“We’re now in a legal battle over the way in which the whole situation transpired,” Dimacchia said Tuesday, adding that the situation had no bearing on his decision to step down from the school board.

Also on Tuesday, a foreclosure case was filed in Lorain County Common Pleas Court over an Amherst property owned by Dimacchia. The suit, filed by Ever Home Mortgage Co. in Jacksonville, Fla., seeks judgment for $146,113 owed for a Terra Lane home.

Dimacchia, who lives at another address, said he was renting the Terra Lane home to another person who had failed to make rental payments.

“That case in no way figured into my decision about resigning from the board,” he said.

Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.

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