Community pressure apparently was a factor in the Irvington Board of Education’s decision last month not to maintain a five-year contract with Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Matusiak.

Outgoing board President Tanya Hunt explained at the June 16 meeting while the board unanimously felt Matusiak was performing well for the district, many residents were “not comfortable” with her five-year contract being renewed each year.

In March, a petition with more than 300 signatures was presented to the Board of Education, expressing concern with the five-year rollover provision contained in Matusiak’s contract.

Having already agreed to freeze her current $256,965 annual salary, Matusiak also consented to live by the parameters of her existing contract, which expires in June 2013.

Language Outcry
Meanwhile, parents of the Irvington High School Site Committee and others implored the board to reinstate the Legacy language classes for enrollment next year and extend a $7,000 stipend to the chairperson of the World Language Department.

Due to budget constraints, one-semester Legacy courses in Latin and Greek are slated to be cut, in part because enrollment in the classes fall just shy of the minimum 15 students, which was never enforced in the past. Irvington is the only school in Westchester that offers the Legacy of Ancient Greek and the Legacy of Ancient Rome.

“The Latin program here is one of the reasons I moved to Irvington,” said former Mayor Erin Malloy. “The language program offered is unparalleled. You want to keep this type of program going.”

Esther Samra, a member of the Site Committee, agreed, saying, “This board was under intense pressure to cut to get as close to zero (tax increase) as possible and sometimes there are unintended consequences. This particular cut is hurting instruction.”

Saying Goodbye
Last month’s meeting was also the last for Hunt, who lost her bid for a second three-year term, and Trustee Paul Mandel, who opted not to seek a fifth term.

In bidding farewell, Mandel did his best David Letterman impression by presenting a Top 10 list of his best moments during his 12 years on the board. He said his greatest regret was “not doing something about the subpar fields in the village.”

“There are so many moments that I have. I have enjoyed every single moment of my tenure,” he said. “Yes, it was a lot of work but it was a true honor.”

Newly elected trustees Robyne Camp and John Dawson will take over for Hunt and Mandel on July 1.