SOUTH BEND — Jefferson Intermediate Center Principal James Kapsa was named Interim Superintendent of the South Bend Community School Corporation Thursday night by an increasingly divided School Board. But even that unanimous vote didn't come without a new dose of controversy.

Arguments continued during the meeting over the buyout of current Superintendent Dr. Robert Zimmerman's contract.

Just minutes into the brief public meeting, Board Vice President Ann Rosen read the following statement:

"It is recommended for Board approval that Dr. Zimmerman be relieved of his administrative duties as of Friday at 5 p.m., June 6."

But Board members Bill Sniadecki and Dawn Jones, who voted in opposition to the agreement to open negotiations on a buyout for Zimmerman Monday, worried that move was premature because the corporation does not have a signed separation agreement yet with Zimmerman.

"Until there's a separation agreement, Dr. Zimmerman is our Superintendent," said Sniadecki.

He then made a motion to table the proposal until the Board's next meeting on June 16.

It was defeated 5-2, with Sniadecki and Jones voting in favor of it.

The motion to end Zimmerman's tenure Friday was then passed by the same 5-2 vote.

Then, the eagerly awaited announcement was made.

"It is recommended by the Board that Mr. James Kapsa be approved to serve as Interim Superintendent of the South Bend School Corporation beginning Friday, June 6 at 5 p.m.," read Rosen.

That vote passed 7-0, after Sniadecki and Jones explained that they didn't feel they could leave the corporation without leadership, and they felt Kapsa was a good candidate.

Board President Sheila Bergeron congratulated Kapsa. He shook hands with the board, and quickly made the Board and the community a promise.

"I vow to all of you here my word to cooperate, collaborate, and to communicate with you to the best of my abilities," he said, during a short speech.

It's the very reason, Bergeron said, that he was chosen for the job.

"He's a man of integrity. He has a lot of great experience. He's mentored many of our principals in the area. He's a good person to bring people together and to heal situations. I think that's what we need at this point," she said.

Kapsa said he knows that charge won't be easy, particularly in the wake of Zimmerman's buyout offer.

"I understand that," he said. "I'm a community person, and I'm willing to do what I can for this community. They'll know where I am at all times, but I don't intend to be spending all my time in the office."

And he says he'll count on nearly 40 years of experience in the South Bend School Corporation to help accomplish that goal.

Kapsa served as the corporation's director of elementary education from 1988 to 1994, and has served as a principal in various buildings since then. For the last 6 years, he's been principal at Jefferson Intermediate School on the city's near-east side.

As the meeting drew to a close Thursday night, it was clear just how large that challenge might be.

As Sniadecki outlined new objections to the previous vote following Kapsa's speech, Board Member Kim Barnbrook broke in.

"May I call an adjournment?" she asked. "Yes," replied Bergeron and Rosen simultaneously. "Thank you. We're adjourned," said Bergeron, to a chorus of gasps from the crowd of about 75 parents, administrators and teachers.

"I don't think that was proper," replied Sniadecki, before his microphone was turned off.

Afterward, he explained his position further.

"I was told it was illegal [to vote on relieving Zimmerman of his duties Thursday] and he held his administration position until there's a separation agreement. Three other board members talked to the board's attorney about this without me, and then didn't inform me. How they could bring a motion to do that, to me, is unbelievable," he said.

Sniadecki also took exception with a statement Rosen read following the vote to hire Kapsa, saying he was never consulted on it, nor was he given a copy of it prior to it being read.

"That was the first I ever heard of it," he told the board. "I don't disagree with it, but this is a 7-member board. Seven members need to make decisions together."

Still, he and the vast majority of the crowd said they do support Kapsa, including NEA-South Bend President Carolyn Peterson.

"We have no objection to Mr. Kapsa," she told WSBT. "But I still think it's a travesty about Dr. Zimmerman, particularly after we've now seen his evaluation. There's nothing there to buy out his contract."

When asked if there was hope of Kapsa healing divisions within the corporation, she replied, "I doubt it. Not if the clowns keep acting as they do."

But others see it differently.

Transforming Action Through Power or "TAP" South Bend Education Team Leader Emily Sipos-Butler said it presents an opportunity for the corporation to grow.

"We see this as a positive way to move forward," she said. "Because if we stay in the anger, we're just failing our children."

Kelly Goodzey's children attended Jefferson while Kapsa was principal. She sums up his leadership in one word.

"Wonderful. He was there doing any job put forth. He'd help load the bus. He'd work in the cafeteria. He was wonderful," she said.

Sniadecki's support, he says, is ironic.

"From his interview, he's a mirror image of Dr. Zimmerman," he said.

But some worry the divide is simply too great right now for one man to heal, no matter who he is.

"It's up to us as parents and as a community now to help out," said parent Andrew Brown. "We have to support [Kapsa] and work along with him."

But it's a divide Sniadecki now sees as nearly beyond repair. He says drastic change has to come, and soon.

"We need some local officials to come in and demand -- even if we have to go all the way downstate -- they need to come in, and take control," he said.

WSBT spoke with a representative from the Indiana State Board of Accounts Thursday. He said, right now, the state is not investigating the South Bend School Corporation or looking at a possible takeover of the Board.

But Sniadecki says he may ask them to, though he stopped short of saying for sure.

Meanwhile, Kapsa says he's ready to move forward. He'll take over as Interim Superintendent Friday at 5 p.m., and says he'll finish his work at Jefferson over the weekend, and will begin meeting with department heads across the district next week.

Zimmerman will leave his office for the final time Friday afternoon.

As for his buyout, and how much it will cost?

That remains a mystery. Bergeron says the Board's attorney still has not presented Zimmerman with a buyout offer. Following Monday's 5-2 vote to open negotiations on a buyout, Zimmerman said he hadn't even decided whether he would accept any buyout offer. He confirmed that stance again during and interview Thursday with our partners WSBT's Newstalk AM 960.

Even so, Bergeron said again following Thursday's meeting that she hopes the board can vote on some sort of final buyout deal for Zimmerman at their next regularly scheduled meeting on June 16.