St. Paul Public Schools Superintendent Joe Gothard received positive marks in a closed-door job review held by school board members last week.

He was seen as effective in each of four categories — operations, district communications, teaching and learning, and ethical leadership and equity — and credited, too, for his leadership in challenging times, according to a summary presented at Tuesday's school board meeting.

Gothard now is in his fifth year as the district's leader under a contract paying him $240,000 annually. No raise was offered as part of the evaluation and he did not ask for one, he said after the meeting.

He told the board he was "humbled and honored" by the review and he acknowledged the "immense challenges" that come with leading the state's second-largest district.

Students of color and those with special needs and limited financial means struggled greatly during the pandemic, and the district now is working to address those and other issues through an infusion of $207 million in federal funding. A plan outlining use of the money over three years must be submitted to the state Department of Education by Oct. 1.

The board's evaluation of Gothard's performance was not as generous as it was a year ago when he was judged to be highly effective in some areas. But the nearest the eight-paragraph statement came to offering criticism was in questioning the pace of work in the area of ethical leadership and equity.

"Echoing sentiments from last year, the board acknowledges the commitment of the superintendent in the area of equity, but that progress still feels slow," the summary states.

The board commended Gothard for efforts to ease the transition between in-person and distance learning and for guiding development of an ethnic studies course to be piloted this fall.

He also earned praise as a steady and reliable voice "during times of great uncertainty," according to the summary.

The board advised Gothard to build on his communications skills by exploring ways to reach a wider range of cultural groups, perhaps by adding translators. Over the past year, the current board has pushed hard on the need to engage students and community members in district decisionmaking.

Anthony Lonetree • 612-673-4109