Thursday was Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent Mary Ellen Elia's last day on the job.

In January, the school board voted 4-3 to terminate Elia's contract, despite Elia being recently named Superintendent of the Year. Elia had been at odds with several committee members on several issues.

Elia will receive a buyout, with two-plus years remaining, benefits and unused vacation time, that will total a little more than $1 million. Elia, 66, has been with the district since 1986 and superintendent since 2005.

On Thursday, hours before she packed up her office, Elia said good-bye to her colleagues. She also used her final day on the clock to reflect on her career.

"At no point in my life have I ever said, 'I think I'll go try something else,' because if I was thinking that, I probably would've already done it," she said.

As she walked the halls of the district office, several employees fought back tears as their leader prepared to move on.

"We've been in tears all week long," district employee Kathryn Walker said. "It's a great loss for the district. I can't even imagine what it's going to be like without her."

Even with her final months filled with ups and downs, Elia said that moving forward, she'd like to see the focus stay on the students. In fact, instead of focusing on retirement, she's looking for a new way to serve students.

"Palm Beach is in the middle of a search," she said. "They're moving forward on that, and certainly I'm looking at all opportunities, so that's one of the things I'm clearly looking at. But there's others in other places in this country too, that I'm interested in."

As she prepares for her next step in her career, Elia said she wants to be clear on one thing.

"I loved my job as Superintendent of Hillsborough County schools," she said.

the school board has already found a replacement for Elia. On Tuesday, the school board voted to offer Deputy Superintendent Jeff Eakins a contract to be the district's new superintendent.

The 4-3 decision came after a lengthy debate about whether to offer Eakins the job or conduct a national search. Several board members said they felt they owed it to the public to consider all the candidates who might be available.

The Hillsborough County school district is the eighth-largest in the country with 206,000 students and 27,000 employees.