BRIDGEPORT — Superintendent Carmela Levy-David’s future leading one of Connecticut’s largest school systems is now up in the air after the school board moved to enter into negotiations that could end her tenure.

The board on Tuesday voted to direct their attorneys to “negotiate a resolution” to the school chief’s employment status, a little more than a week after she went on leave for undisclosed personal reasons.

The board did not publicly outline what a potential resolution would entail, and Board Chair Christine Baptiste-Pereze and Vice Chair Akisha L. Cassermere, who both abstained from the vote, declined to answer questions about the negotiations.

Levy-David did not return a phone call seeking comment on the situation.

Board member Robert Traber, who is among a handful of members who have pushed the nine-member body to hold a vote to terminate the superintendent’s contract, said the attorneys are exploring an agreement that could result in Levy-David’s voluntary resignation.

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“Her attorney and our attorney are going to try and negotiate an opportunity for her to leave,” Traber said in an interview Wednesday. “Otherwise we go forward with the termination. Those are the two options.”

Traber claimed there are now at least five votes on the board to dismiss Levy-David, a former Texas-based educator who was appointed the district’s top administrator in mid-2023 and awarded a three-year contract.

The decision reflects long-simmering tensions between the board and Levy-David that have intensified in recent weeks following the release of a survey that found teachers overwhelmingly lack confidence in the superintendent’s ability to effectively manage the school system.

The move to start negotiations came after the board voted to meet behind closed doors with attorneys to discuss Levy-David’s employment status. The discussion was not originally on the meeting agenda, but was added at the request of Secretary Jennifer Perez.

The decision to enter into executive session was supported by Perez, Traber, Joseph Sokolovic, Albert Benejan Grajales, Willie Medina and Tiheba Bain. The move was opposed by Baptiste-Perez, Cassermere and Andre Woodson, who have all publicly expressed support for Levy-David.

In an interview, Woodson expressed frustration at the criticism leveled against Levy-David by the district’s teachers and other staff members, suggesting they have not given her a fair shot to implement her vision for the school system.

“Our community is not the one protesting against the superintendent,” Woodson said. “These are teachers protesting that don't even live in the district. I would love for people that live in the district to get more involved and not have people who don't live outside the district deciding what's best for our children.”

Perez, the board secretary, declined to say if she believes the board should part ways with the first-time schools chief. But she said she felt compelled to meet in private with her colleague to better understand the situation involving the superintendent.

“There's a lot of rumors out there on social media and some of us board members don't even know half the story,” Perez said. “I just wanted to get in a room to discuss what's going on with the nine members together because that hasn't happened yet.”

Similarly, board member Tiheba Bain said she also voted to discuss Levy-David’s employment status in executive session to learn what options are available to the board if it moves forward with terminating the school chief’s contract or in the event the superintendent resigns.

“I think the superintendent is a great person,” Bain said. “She has a great vision and her vision could have worked, but she came in with opposition from the beginning. I do not want to see her go, and I wish she doesn't leave. But at this point, I don't think I have any say over what's going to happen.”

According to Levy-David’s employment agreement, the superintendent and the board are allowed to terminate the contract at any time if both sides reach an agreement. Levy-David could also opt to resign on her own, but she must first give 90 days notice.

The board, meanwhile, has the power to fire the superintendent at any time for just cause or if it gives at least a 60 day warning. The agreement would also automatically terminate if the schools chief moves her primary residence outside of Bridgeport.

School officials have not publicly disclosed the reason behind Levy-David’s decision to take a leave of absence and the superintendent has not returned a message seeking comment.

But according to a Nov. 8 email from Board Chair Christine Baptiste-Perez to her colleagues, the schools chief "requested medical leave" under federal law.

The board on Tuesday voted to name Deputy Superintendent Royce Avery as the acting superintendent during Levy-David’s time away. In an interview after the decision, Avery said he may consider applying for the permanent superintendent position if the role becomes vacant.

The school board appointed Levy-David in June of 2023 after a nearly year-long search for a new leader. Before coming to Bridgeport, she served as the assistant superintendent of elementary education at the Fort Bend Independent School District in Texas.

Levy-David narrowly beat out then-Bridgeport Interim Superintendent Alyshia Perrin, a longtime administrator who had helmed the district for seven months and was the only other finalist under consideration.

But the ongoing negotiations could derail that goal by cutting her tenure short after only 16 months.

The current controversy comes after a challenging first-year for the superintendent that saw her repeatedly clash with board members over a long list of issues, including her decision to spend $24,000 on a districtwide convocation ceremony, hire new central office staffers and contract with a private company to train teachers.

The superintendent has also faced criticism from parents and other community members over a plan announced in March to close a handful of struggling schools that was later turned into a facilities study, and in response to the district’s handling of a social media threat this fall that forced officials to cancel classes.

But Levy-David’s strongest critics have come from within the district’s teaching staff. The Bridgeport Education Association, the union representing local teachers, held a large protest in September that drew more than 200 people in order to highlight concerns about the district’s leadership and a lack of classroom resources.

Last month, the Connecticut Education Association released the results of a survey showing that 97 percent of the nearly 600 teachers who took part have no confidence in the superintendent's leadership.

The bevy of controversies prompted the board to give Superintendent Carmela Levy-David a mixed review of her first year on the job, with some members praising her performance and others raising sharp criticisms, according to a copy of the annual evaluation.