Russell Byers, my friend and colleague, was murdered in 1999. The school that bears his name needs a new leader.

As a columnist, you’re paid to share your opinions. And when different columnists work together, there are bound to be a lot of thoughts bouncing up against each other, and they don’t always align.

But that’s a good thing. No one has all the answers. We grow by listening to and learning from each other.

I can recall many such discussions with my late colleague, Daily News columnist W. Russell G. Byers. He was a big fan of charter schools, arguing that they offered families a choice and created competition. I countered that they would siphon too much money and attention from traditional public schools.

But no matter how much we differed, in our conversations there was always civility — something that’s in short supply these days. Byers would have been dismayed by how political discourse has devolved into so much negativity. The corridors of Washington, D.C., would benefit from having more genteel Republicans such as Byers and Sen. Mitt Romney (R., Utah), and fewer hard-righters like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.) and Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.).

But, alas, the world no longer has the benefit of Byers’ compassionate perspective. In 1999, he was stabbed in the heart in front of the Wawa in Chestnut Hill during a robbery attempt.

As journalists, we are accustomed to covering homicides and disasters. But nothing can prepare you for the murder of a colleague, especially someone as respected and beloved as Byers was. “Russell cared more about the future of the city of Philadelphia, and did more to try to influence it in a positive way, than anybody else I know. So this act of violence is also directed at the entire city,” Zack Stalberg, the paper’s then-editor, said at the time.

Two weeks before his death, his wife brought up the topic of starting a charter school, and Byers warned against it, saying the project would consume her.

Two years after his death, his wife, Laurada, opened the Russell Byers Charter School — on the day of the Sept. 11 attacks.

All these years later, I’m still not a big fan of charter schools. Many charters struggle with the same underperformance issues that plague local public schools, and the Byers school is no exception: Its scores for reading, math, and science are on par or slightly below those of other charters and traditional public schools.

Still, I’m happy Byers’ legacy lives on through the students. He is still helping make Philadelphia a better place through the lives of its graduates.

Over the years, I’ve watched from afar as the school, which tries to teach Byers’ values — community service, academic excellence, and civic responsibility — has grown and become a part of the fabric of the city. It has since moved to 19th and Arch Streets.

Each time I listen to a recording of the school song, “Roots to Grow, Wings to Fly,” tears well up in my eyes. The lyrics by Krista Yutzy-Burkey remind me of the promise of our youth, as well as the school’s mission:

“We’re always on a journey

Discovering the world

Learning how to love ourselves

And other boys and girls ...”

For more than 20 years, Laurada Byers has been the school’s fearless cheerleader. She opened the school with just 120 students up to second grade in Spring Garden; in its 20th year, it enrolled more than 725 students through eighth grade.

Now, Laurada is ready to retire from her role as chief fundraiser. But first, she has to find someone to serve as president and chief executive of the Byerschool Foundation.

Lisa Haver, retired Philadelphia school teacher and coordinator for the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, told me she doesn’t expect that will be a problem. “There are a lot of schools in this city with experienced administrators,” so the school has a big pool of talent from which to draw.

Laurada has been through an awful lot: She has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and cancer, and recently had a hip replaced.

Since Byers’ death, the school has been her life. But she doesn’t have the energy she used to. She said she is more than ready to pass the baton to her successor, someone who feels as passionately about it as she does.

“It’s time, and I’m going to miss it desperately,” she told me. “The school for me, and the way I’ve always perceived it, it was a gift. And now it’s time to give the gift to someone else and see what they do with it.”

As someone who knew Byers and cared deeply for him, the school is a gift to me, too. It means a lot that it exists, that I can walk past the building on 19th and Arch, see his name, and know he is still having an impact on the city he fought so hard to make better.