SHERBURNE – The Sherburne-Earlville School Board voted to oust its superintendent of schools, Robert Berson, at a special meeting held Friday, creating a shakeup in leadership just weeks before the start of the new school year.

The board voted unanimously to place Berson on leave, with pay and benefits, pending an investigation of alleged inefficiency, incompetency or neglect of duty.

In the interim, the school board has put Dr. Antoinette Halliday, assistant superintendent for instruction, at the helm to serve as acting superintendent, in addition to the duties of her current role as assistant superintendent for instruction, until a new superintendent of schools is appointed.

The unanimous decision to remove Berson followed two special meetings of the S-E school board that were called to order Thursday and Friday of last week. Board members gathered in executive sessions lasting more than four and half hours between the two meetings, ultimately making a motion to dismiss Benson in a 5-0 vote by Friday afternoon.

The school board also terminated any existing contracts with CreAIDive Solutions, a Madison County-based consulting company that specializes in business logistics and planning with area school districts. The S-E board had discussed the district’s engagement with CreAIDive Solutions during a regular meeting held last Monday, but did not find a resolution in their records authorizing any contract or official agreement with the company.

In a public statement made Friday, Sherburne-Earlville School Board President Harmon Hoff penned his support of the district’s decisions.

“The board is grateful to Dr. Halliday for her leadership and willingness to take on this temporary role,” Hoff stated. “The board believes this action to be necessary to serve the best interests of the Sherburne-Earlville School community and looks forward to a positive commencement of the 2025-2026 school year. We thank the school community for its support.”