(WSBT) Superintendent Robert Zimmerman is staying put. The school board made the announcement early Monday evening.

Board members had been quiet about the situation until Monday’s meeting. Now, they say they're willing to work with Zimmerman to reach their goals.

The board room was packed with more than 200 people, mostly supporters of Zimmerman. They responded to the announcement with a standing ovation.

Zimmerman thanked them for their support, and he's gotten quite a bit of it over the past few days.

Even Monday, some city officials got behind the superintendent.

It's a sign of support from eight of the nine South Bend Common Council members.

They say Superintendent Robert Zimmerman should keep his job for "the greater good" of the South Bend community.

"We've heard from the community and they support Dr. Zimmerman and what he's doing,” explained Derek Dieter, 1st District Councilman. “We just hope that the school board lets him do the job he was hired to do."

While some council members have disagreed with Zimmerman over his plans for Marquette Primary, they say apparent conflict between him and the school board sends a bad message.

"I just think it represents the appearance of disarray that's not good for the school corporation and probably not good for the city either,” said Dr. David Varner, 5th District Councilman.

South Bend Mayor Steve Luecke agrees, and points to the future of the corporation.

"If someone believes that they're only going to get one year to make their mark in a school corporation, it would be very difficult I think to recruit top quality candidates,” Luecke said.

The National Education Association's "Save Dr. Zimmerman" Web site now features dozens of letters of support from teachers and the community.

It includes this statement from School Board President Dawn Jones:

"I believe the superintendent needs the opportunity and time to implement the programs he has shared with the public."

Council Vice President Ann Puzzello, who has been a teacher for 21 years, agrees.

"You know, if a superintendent supports his teachers and they respect him back, he learns a lot and he must be doing a lot of good things,” she said.

The school board said they made their decision based on the superintendent's one year evaluation and Zimmerman's response to that evaluation.

They plan to do an additional assessment on Zimmerman's job performance and his relationship with the board next June.

At this point Zimmerman still has nearly two years left on his three-year contract.