The Derby Board of Education has reversed a previous decision to not renew the contracts of superintendent Heather Bohaty and assistant superintendents Becky Moeder and Holly Putnam-Jackson through the 2024-2025 school year. 

A special meeting was held on Feb. 20 to review the matter, and the board decided that the three will make strong improvements to the district. 

Board members Matthew Joyce and Tina Prunier previously voted to approve the renewal, while board president Michael Blankenship, Andy Watkins, Jennifer Neel and Robyn Pearman all voted against. 

The vote was 5-2 to reverse the decision with Pamela Doyle, Neel, Pearman and Joyce voting to reverse while Watkins and Blankenship voted against the renewal. 

After the decision, Blankenship read the following statement:

“We would like to thank our stakeholders who have reached out via email or with their attendance at tonight’s special Board of Education meeting with a shared interest regarding the future of our school district. While we all may view different topics with different lenses, it is important to both myself and the Board as a whole to provide a strong future for the educational stakeholders and students of Derby Public Schools. The Board has confidence that Mrs. Bohaty, Mrs. Moeder and Dr. Putnam-Jackson will lead our staff to make strong overall improvements as a district. At the next regular Board of Education meeting on February 27, we will share a report on some of our academic focus areas over the next few years.”

The board will still decide on the district’s directors at the Feb. 27 board meeting, while principals’ contracts will be decided at the March 13 board meeting.