After a year that she acknowledged was a rocky one, St. Paul Public Schools Superintendent ­Valeria Silva earned a significant show of support Tuesday night from her school board bosses.

The board, as part of an annual review of the superintendent's performance, gave her a "satisfactory" rating for 2014, and announced plans to begin negotiating a renewal of her contract as leader of the state's second-largest school district.

Silva comes off a year filled with big changes — some of which drew fire because of an escalation in classroom misbehavior, primarily in the middle schools. Several teachers spoke out in 2013-14 to protest district approaches to student discipline. But problems lingered into the current school year, too, most notably at Ramsey Middle School.

On Tuesday, Steve Marchese, a lawyer and school district parent who plans to run for a school board seat next year, told board members that it should not have taken parental protests to spur the corrective action now being taken at Ramsey, and he cited that perceived lack of oversight as one of several reasons a new school board is needed.

Marchese, however, was in the clear minority among speakers who addressed the board during the public comment portion of Tuesday's agenda. Black leaders commended the district for its equity work. Students and teachers spoke of the benefits of this year's initiative to begin putting iPads in the hands of all students. Still others defended the district's decision to move more special-education students into regular classrooms.

Several speakers singled out Silva for praise.

In a short statement, Board Chairwoman Mary Doran said that Silva showed strong leadership this year in crafting a new phase of the district's Strong Schools, Strong Communities strategic plan.

"We further support her leadership in implementing the board-approved racial equity policy to increase racial equity in our schools and community, focusing especially on the academic performance of our students of color," Doran said.

But Doran added that the board also plans to work with Silva on strategies to strengthen relations and communications with students, families, employees and community stakeholders.

Silva, looking back at the past year, said that people should realize that with sweeping changes — among them the replacement of two-year junior highs with three-year middle schools and the shifting of some students with emotional and behavioral disorders into regular classrooms — everything cannot be "perfect at once."

The key is to adjust, she said, and she believes the district is listening to community and staff concerns.

"I am not surprised there are concerns," she added. "But we have a lot of people who are excited about our direction."

Under the three-year contract she signed in 2012, Silva now is due a 2 percent salary increase plus a 1 percent performance bonus tied to her satisfactory performance evaluation — raising her salary to $204,833. She also is paid an additional $11,000 per year in longevity pay in recognition of her 25-plus years as a school district employee.

Her current agreement runs through Dec. 15, 2015. No timeline was given for contract renewal talks.

Anthony Lonetree • 651-925-5036