He's leaving for the superintendent's job in Boston.

No, he turned it down.

Yes, he's going, but he'll finish the school year in Rochester.

No, he changed his mind and he's not going to Boston.

Yes, he's leaving, but now it's to Albany to join Spitzer's team.

And nobody's talking until sometime next week.

So goes Superintendent Manuel Rivera's job-change drama. The story that he had changed his mind first appeared in the Boston Globe yesterday. According to the Globe, negotiations over a $300,000-a-year, five-year contract fell apart when Rivera and the Boston district couldn't agree on how much Rivera would be paid in a buyout, if the job proved not to be a good match. Boston officials seem to have been caught off guard as much as Rochester officials were when Rivera announced he was moving.

The Globe reported today that Boston's mayor received a call from New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who said Rivera will have a senior position in the administration dealing with public education. Rivera isn't commenting. But the governor's office has confirmed that an announcement will be made next week.

Rivera, who co-chaired the new governor's education transition team, has championed increased state aid for urban school districts. Little is known about his new position, but if it gives him some influence over state education policy and funding, that would be good news for Rochester and other urban districts.

With Boston out of the picture, could Rochester have kept him? Or maybe he can help Rochester more by being in Albany. In the past, City Hall, like many governments in cash-strapped cities, has tried to reduce school aid as state aid has increased. If Rivera has influence over Spitzer's education policies, he might provide a push back from City Hall.