Last modified: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 1:11 AM EDT School chief earns extension BY LAUREN CARTER FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE ATTLEBORO - School committee members unanimously voted Tuesday night to extend Superintendent Pia Durkin's contract for one year. Under her new contract, Durkin will continue to lead Attleboro schools until June 30, 2010. Durkin is entering her second full year at the helm of the city's 6,000-student school system. The former Narragansett, R.I., superintendent took control of the district last July after the retirement of former Superintendent Joel Lovering. After her first nine months on the job, an evaluation by school committee members found that Durkin either met or exceeded expectations in four main areas, including institutional leadership, public engagement, organizational and management expectations and relations with the school committee. The report also cited Durkin as a "visible and accessible leader" who has built rapport with staff, families and community members while keeping the public informed of policies, practices and trends within the school system. After Tuesday night's meeting, school committee member Frank D'Agostino called Durkin an "active superintendent," and said her contract extension will help to stabilize the district. "The community does deserve the stability of having a superintendent for the long stretch," D'Agostino said. D'Agostino added he would have liked more time to discuss Durkin's performance before the vote. Durkin's contract extension followed a lengthy discussion of the school system's Adequate Yearly Progress data - which has improved under Durkin's charge - and was approved with little comment from school committee members, who cited only the quality of Durkin's performance. The deadline for extending Durkin's contract was Oct. 1. The school committee's next meeting is Oct. 9.