Manuel Rivera will stay on the job as Rochester's schools superintendent until April 30, and then join the Spitzer administration as deputy secretary of education. Until the 30th, he'll be superintendent full time, although he can use personal time that he is due to do some work for Spitzer.

From April 30 until July 10, he'll be on an unpaid leave of absence from his Rochester job, permitting him to qualify for end-of-career benefits such as life and health insurance.

The school board approved the agreement with Rivera on Tuesday night, in a 5-2 vote.

The School Board's discussion over the timing of Rivera's departure has at times been tense. During a 2 1/2-hour meeting on February 2, some board members argued that Rivera should leave soon. It's unrealistic, they said, to think he can perform his duties as Rochester's superintendent while starting his new position in Albany. Rivera had initially proposed doing just that, but he withdrew the idea because it would require a mammoth juggling of responsibilities.

The February 2 meeting, like Tuesday's, was a closed session, but in interviews over the weekend board members discussed the general subjects that came up --- and the tension among board members.

"I have to say that I was taken aback when it got into the press that he was going to do both," said board member Cynthia Elliott. "That would be a disservice to the students and to the staff, because there would be an absence of leadership here. It would leave the district vulnerable if a problem came up or if there was an opportunity with no one to respond."

Other board members, however, said Rivera's presence is vital to the budget process for the 2007-2008 school year.

"Some people thought the budget could be handled without Manny, and that's just not true," said board member Willa Powell. "Preparing the budget is about the most complicated thing the district does, and Manny has about 10 years' experience doing it. He had to stay for that."

Rivera began working on the budget in December and is to present it to the board in about 40 days, sometime in March.

"If he just hands in the budget book and leaves, that would leave us with the numbers, but it wouldn't give any time to absorb all that information," said Powell. "He usually comes back later and defends his proposed budget to the board. But we need him to stay through the budget process."

And Rivera came under criticism for how he handled his announcement about joining the Spitzer administration. Some board members felt they should have been consulted in advance of the announcement from Spitzer's office.

"He put us in a heck of a situation," said board member Tom Brennan. "I have a high regard for Manny, but he handled it clumsily."

While Rivera's departure terms are settled, the board faces other major challenges, including scrutinizing Rivera's final budget for the district and finding his replacement.

Selecting a new superintendent is "the most important thing a School Board member does," said Powell. And that responsibility is now magnified: the board must also select an interim superintendent to serve while it continues its search for Rivera's replacement.

"The person who comes in until we fill the position still needs to be able to handle a lot," Elliott said. "We want that person to have some familiarity with the budget process, but also have some relationship to Albany and our New York State delegation. This is an important time of year for the district."

Elliott and several other board members said they're troubled that Spitzer didn't seem to recognize how Rivera's sudden departure would impact the district.

"It really would have been better if the governor had let him complete the school year and then accept his position," Elliott said, "because this puts us in a difficult situation."