The community is still reeling after news that Rochester City School District Superintendent Terry Dade is stepping down not even 10 months after he came to town.

So is the Rochester Board of Education, whose members, over a period of 24 hours, first learned their superintendent was considering leaving – and then found out he had a new job.

On Thursday evening, the board and Dade gathered virtually to discuss next year’s budget during a board meeting.

Another school board also had a meeting Thursday night. The Cornwall Central School District’s Board of Education in the Hudson Valley approved the selection of a new superintendent: Terry Dade. They posted the news that Dade would be starting in July on their website.

Some time later, Dade’s email resignation to the Rochester board landed in their inboxes. But some board members, including President Van White, first learned that Dade had been hired by a downstate school district from 13WHAM News.

“My feelings are regret,” said White. “Because if he had hung in a little longer – and I know it was difficult for him, it was difficult for all of us, but I know it was especially difficult on him – he might have gotten to the point where he had a better appreciation for what was possible in Rochester.”

White says he understands how challenging this job was for Dade. After starting last July, details began to surface that the district was experiencing a severe budget crisis. Over the next six months, the budget deficit ballooned to a staggering $87 million, forcing Dade to shift into crisis mode and begin making severe teaching and staff cuts.

“I think this was a difficult time for anybody to be a superintendent,” said White.

Repeated attempts were made by 13WHAM News to reach Dade, who has not commented publicly in the wake of his resignation.

The potential for change at the top was discovered Wednesday after Dade instructed his attorney to let the district know he was considering leaving, saying the job had taken a toll on his physical and mental health. He said his working relationship with the board didn’t allow him to accomplish what he felt he was hired to do. That led several in the community to rally outside of district headquarters in the hopes that Dade would stay.

Lashara Evans, principal of School No. 54, was one of them. She said she was shocked and disappointed to learn that, just a few hours after that rally, Dade had inked a new contract with Cornwall Central School District in the Hudson Valley.

“It’s kind of bigger than Terry Dade. It’s about trying to make sure our district is providing everything that every child deserves, and that includes having a leader that’s going to be here in the long run, having a leader that’s going to help bring change to our district,” she said.

When he was hired, Dade pledged to be that leader. RCSD has had nine superintendents in 40 years; one, Manny Rivera, served twice. Dade, parents and staff hoped, would provide stability after years of tumult.

Parent Jessica Fleming says she was caught off guard by Dade’s impending departure.

She says between Dade leaving and RCSD’s ongoing financial crisis, she fears for the future of the district and her twin 8-year-old sons who attend school.

“There’s all these changes. Some of them were out of his control, and some of them were enacted by Terry Dade and we don’t have his leadership to see them though. It’s hard to see how this plan will be followed through,” said Fleming.

Assemblyman Harry Bronson (D- Rochester) said he’d been talking with Dade over the past two days, too, in an effort to keep him here.

“I tried desperately to convince him he was not in this alone, that he had the support of many of us, including myself and that we needed him to stay and do what he could to help the district perform in a way the children deserve,”said Bronson.

Bronson says Dade’s decision reflects poorly on the school board. Bronson says there’s now a more urgent need for the state to assign a fiscal monitor in RCSD.

A fiscal monitor is already set to be appointed, but Bronson says the state needs to act fast, and get the monitor here before he leaves.

There’s no word yet on Dade’s last day in Rochester. He is supposed to start in Cornwall on July 24.

As for selecting RCSD’s next leader, White says he would be in favor of someone with ties to Rochester.

— WHAM 13