DOWNIEVILLE — It was standing room only this past Tuesday night, April 6, for the joint meeting of the Sierra County Board of Education (SCOE) and the Sierra- Plumas Joint Unified School District (SPJUSD) in Downieville because District Superintendent James Berardi had tendered his resignation from this position.

After months of negotiating a new contract for his District Superintendent job, Berardi and the SPJUSD had come to an impasse. Thus, Berardi opened by saying he was presented with a short-term extension of his contract he could not accept, therefore, he had submitted his letter of resignation as District Superintendent effective June 30th.

However, Berardi, who was elected by Sierra County’s voters to the office of Superintendent for the SCOE in last year’s ballot, will continue to serve in this position while managing the SCOE’s Special Education and Adult Education programs. He will also accept the job of Principal- Teacher for the Downieville schools.

Currently, Berardi said, the responsibilities of being both Superintendent of the SPJUSD and Superintendent of the SCOE has stretched him too thin. Thus, while he will be taking a significant pay cut (roughly $14K per year), he looks forward to being in a position where he can focus on serving the students in Downieville.

President of the SPJUSD Board, Kelly Champion, said the Board had decided to go a different direction during contract negotiations with Berardi.

In the wake of this news, Paul and Linda Guffin asked who will cover the District Superintendent’s responsibilities if the search for a replacement proves to be difficult. Don Russell asked, “Is there a new plan or do you just want to get rid of Berardi?” Bill Copren commented on how Berardi was, in his opinion, the best principal the District has ever had for integrating where we live into education. Tessa Jackson emphasized the importance of having a strong leader and principal to give the schools the accountability and structure needed to get the Downieville schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) recommendations. Tom Mooers, who served as a member of the SPJUSD Board last year after Alan Wright’s resignation, felt the appointment of Berardi to be Principal-Teacher at the Downieville schools will bring cohesion and strengthen the education being provided to students in Downieville. Mooer also stated, Berardi should be thanked by the public for his leadership during the Covid pandemic and for the fact Sierra County schools have rebounded better than most school districts have since the pandemic wound down.

When the SPJUSD Board unanimously approved the resolutions to accept Berardi’s resignation from the District Superintendent position and appoint him to the Principal-Teacher position, the crowd rose to give them a standing ovation.

{In the April 6, printed on paper version of this story, we said Siobhan Markee was a personnel search firm hired by the SPJUSD. This is not true and we regret the error.}