WELLINGTON —  Wellington Schools Superintendent Victor Cardenzana, who came under fire by the teacher’s union during negotiations on a new contract last fall, said he will leave the $97,500-a-year job when his contract expires in late July.

The 66-year-old said Wednesday that he plans to retire.   

Cardenzana

“Certain occurrences happened with my family, and my wife and I decided this was the course to take,” Cardenzana said.

Cardenzana sent the school board a letter early in the month, and the school board last week asked the Ohio School Board Association to help in the search for his replacement.

School board President Marion Nirode would not discuss the details of Cardenzana’s pending departure, other than to say: “Dr. Vic was ready to retire, and we were ready to look for a new superintendent.”

Cardenzana’s tenure has been marked with several high points, including the passage in November 2005 of a 3.94-mill, three-year levy that allowed the district to fix leaky roofs, buy textbooks and replace computers and other equipment. The levy, which expires at the end of the year, also will allow the district to repave the high school parking lot.

But there were problems, too.

During his tenure, a high school vocational teacher, Patrick Knoble, was accused of talking about sexual matters with students and was then accused of stealing more than $20,000 as an adviser for the Future Farmers of America.

Knoble, whose teaching certificate was revoked last March, was convicted of aggravated menacing for threatening to burn down McCormick Middle School with

Cardenzana and board member Brian Fehlan in it. Knoble will be sentenced Feb. 5 on that charge, and he’s awaiting trial on felony charges of theft and theft in office.

On Wednesday, former board member Jeff Martin, who left office last month, said Cardenzana is “very strong academically,” but that he thought the Knoble issues should have been dealt with in a more timely manner.  

In a November 2006 evaluation, the school board members gave Cardenzana mixed reviews.

He was told he needed to communicate better with staff members and improve his management of the administrative staff, according to a letter sent to him by the school board.

“Your greatest opportunity for improvement is in the area of communication style,” the letter said, adding later:  “Presenting the decision as an absolute, accepting little input from those involved, with little explanation as to why the decision was made, can lead to morale issues.”

During that evaluation, several board members gave him the lowest rating of “needs improvement” about whether he seeks and accepts constructive criticism and has harmonious working relationships with board members.

One of those was Sally Stewart, who wrote: “I feel the working relationship is going the wrong way with time.”

Stewart said Wednesday that the relationship had improved.

During that same evaluation, board member Ayers Ratliff, whose wife is a Wellington teacher, wrote that Cardenzana had advised the board not to accept a freeze in contracts with the unions and “we are now in a very difficult situation.”

In late October, the board approved a new contract for the district’s 95 teachers, but not before the members of the teachers union voted unanimously that they had no confidence in Cardenzana and nearly went on strike.

Meanwhile, the 58 bus drivers, cooks and custodians represented by the Wellington School Support staff continue to work without a contract.

When Cardenzana was hired, he replaced Howard Dulmage, who served as interim Wellington superintendent after the troubled tenure of former Superintendent Sherry Buccieri. 

Buccieri was suspended in December 2002 for allegations that she misled the board and covered up telephone records.

Cardenzana, who lived in Wellington during his tenure, said he plans to return to his home in Coshocton County, where his wife, a school psychologist, also is retiring from her job this year.

He said his proudest moments in Wellington were the professional development of staff and keeping the district solvent, partially through the elimination of unnecessary positions.

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

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