This time it's final: Superintendent steps down after tough battle

The Mat-Su Borough School Board is preparing to look for a new superintendent.

In what became a roller-coaster contract negotiation, Superintendent Pat Chesbro announced this weekend that she had changed her mind and would not accept the board's offer. She will, however, complete her current contract through June 30.

At the beginning of the month, the board voted 7-0 to offer Chesbro a two-year contract with a six-month buyout option, meaning that for $60,000 the board could release her for any reason. Chesbro said at the time she found the terms disheartening but announced she would accept it because of the unanimous vote.

It quickly became clear, however, that she did not have undivided backing from the board, Chesbro told the Frontiersman this weekend, and so she decided not to sign the contract.

"Statements that, 'the superintendent is on a very short leash,' and the frank admission that a member only voted in the affirmative because he believed I would not take this diminished contract offer brought me to the reality that I had misplaced my confidence," Chesbro said in a letter sent to the board last week. "Further interactions with union leaders and their representatives increased my understanding that though I would be positive and move forward, those who have publicly attacked my credibility would continue to weaken the role and effectiveness of the superintendent if I remained in the position."

Board vice president Carl Gatto said he is the one who told Chesbro that while he voted in favor of the contract offer, mainly because of the ability to buy her out for $60,000, his vote was not a stamp of approval.

"It was a contract I could live with, but I wanted no contract," Gatto said.

Gatto said he was pleased to hear that Chesbro had decided to leave the district.

"But I do not take any degree of victory in this. I am very saddened that we have arrived at this predicament," he said. "But I think her decision, which was dignified, allows the district to move forward, and now the people who complained the loudest are ultimately responsible for the direction we take."

Earlier this spring, he voted along with Linda Menard and Larry DeVilbiss not to renew Chesbro's contract. Gatto has accused Chesbro of running the district through directives and demands rather than an open dialogue with employees.

"Do I think replacing her will resolve all the issues? No one really thinks that, but most people think it is a better direction, and it may resolve some of the issues," Gatto said.

Recent board meetings have been crowded with both supporters and critics of Chesbro. The districts principals' and teachers' unions demanded Chesbro's resignation last month following votes of no confidence.

Despite these complaints, board president Dan Contini said he is sorry to see Chesbro go.

"She bent over backwards … she was willing to work with the community. I think she made an honest effort to try to resolve the differences," he said. "My opinion is that people just didn't want it to work. They had a mission and unfortunately they succeeded … She was a great individual and I think she definitely had the children in mind."

Contini, who has served as a board member through the hiring of several superintendents, said losing Chesbro comes at a particularly bad time. In addition to bumpy contract negotiations with teachers and classified employees, budget talks with the assembly and controversial principal selections at local high schools, the district will also be left without a superintendent heading into summer.

"A lot of people have already accepted contracts with other districts … There aren't that many people walking around looking for jobs at this point," Contini said.

However, Gatto and Contini said several district employees are qualified to serve at least as interim superintendent, and both said they have heard rumors that former superintendent Norm Palenske might also be willing to step in.

Palenske served as superintendent before Robert Lehman and filled in on a temporary basis when Lehman left. Palenske's name has come up several times at public meetings as a potential candidate for the position, although some have said he is not interested.

Palenske was out of town and unavailable for comment.