A divided Anderson Community Schools Board of Trustees voted late Monday night to extend Superintendent Joe Cronk’s contract for a year.
At the end of a four-hour meeting, during which board members heard from both supporters and critics of Cronk, the board voted 4-3 to extend his contract through the 2026-27 academic year.
Board members Martha Green, Holly Renz, Patrick Hill and Mandy Webb supported the extension, while Joanna Collette, Robert “Bucky” Bookhart and Rodney Chamberlain voted against it.
“Tonight is good,” Cronk said. “We got the votes that were there to continue to press forward on our early literacy, our mid-level literacy (programs), our fourth through eighth grade and to keep our foot on the gas.”
Cronk acknowledged criticism given Monday night of his leadership, which echoed critiques made during a special meeting last month when his contributions to the schools were questioned and the district’s standardized test scores lamented.
“Meetings like this are illuminatory in that it tells you where some of your failings are,” he said. “It’s clear there’s a mandate to talk to a few people in the community and see what we can do to better our product.”
With his extension, Cronk said he wants to “prepare the district for the next superintendent” and “leave a smooth-running corporation for my successor.” He plans to retire at the end of the 2026-27 school year.
The one-year extension to Cronk’s contract provides him with a $5,000 raise that sets his annual salary at $165,000 for the current school year. An additional $2,500 increase will raise his salary to $167,500 on July 1, 2026.
A $1,000-per-month allowance for personal and business travel is also included in the proposed contract, which a district spokesman said could be amended further based on public feedback. Cronk’s current contract contains a similar clause.
Cronk has been the top leader at ACS since March 2020, when he was promoted from ACS director of operations to interim superintendent after Tim Smith, the outgoing superintendent, was placed on administrative leave while the board negotiated a separation agreement with him.
The board voted to make Cronk the full-time superintendent in May 2021 and he began a three-year contract, paying $155,000 annually, with the 2021-22 school year.
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.