The Buffalo Board of Education voted, 7-2, Wednesday to extend Superintendent James A. Williams’ contract through 2014.

His supporters on the board say they believe that the school system is headed in the right direction. “There’s been some serious progress,” board President Ralph R. Hernandez said. “[English test scores are] up. Math’s up. Graduation rates are up, although they’re not as high as we’d like them. Dropout rates are down.”

A few board members also praised Williams for forging better relationships with the unions in the school system. When he first came to Buffalo,

he was often at odds with them. In recent weeks, though, Buffalo Teachers Federation President Philip Rumore endorsed extending Williams’ contract.

“I want to thank Phil Rumore for standing up and saying the superintendent’s contract should be extended for three years,” board member Christopher L. Jacobs said. “It’s a new day.”

Williams, 66, said he was pleased with the extension. He identified three areas on which the school system needs to focus: completing the school reconstruction project; grappling with the district’s financial challenges; and improving academic performance and the graduation rate in high schools.

The board’s decision to extend his contract will help provide stability in Buffalo schools, said Williams, who has been superintendent since 2005.

“Stability is key in urban school districts,” Williams said after the meeting. “We have to stay the course. We can’t keep coming up with new tricks. I’m very pleased to be here to serve Buffalo. We’re on to something good.”

The board recently completed its annual evaluation of Williams, with each board member rating him on a scale of 1 to 5 on many criteria, which fell under six categories. Overall, his average score was a 4. His highest average score, 4.2, was in the category of instructional leadership. His lowest average score, 3.8, was for his relationship with staff.

The board did not release a breakdown of the ratings or the members’ comments about the superintendent but noted in a written summary that two board members gave Williams a 5 for each criterion.

Williams will continue to receive his current $220,000 salary under the contract extension. He did not ask for a raise or increase in benefits.

“The superintendent has been here five years. He has not had one iota of increase. He pays 20 percent of his insurance coverage,” said board member Florence D. Johnson. “Most of the districts [in New York State] I have been to have not been able to do that.”

Williams also won kudos from several board members for volunteering to give back five days’ pay this year. His senior administrators each agreed to give back a day’s pay.

Two board members, Catherine Nugent Panepinto and John B. Licata, voted against the Williams extension, which added three years to a contract that had been set to expire in 2011. Licata urged the board to postpone the vote. Some board members had pushed to include public input as part of the superintendent’s next annual evaluation. The board has not yet determined what process it will use to evaluate Williams next year.

“Those details should be worked out,” Licata said. “To sign a contract before all the terms of the contract have been established between the parties is not a good idea.”

Several board members said they expect to work out the details regarding the superintendent’s evaluation during a retreat this summer. Hernandez sought to alleviate some board members’ concerns over whether that would actually happen.

“At will, we can terminate the superintendent’s contract with a six-month severance package,” Hernandez reminded them. “That’s an option we’ll always have.”

Prior to the board’s vote on a three-year extension, Panepinto proposed extending Williams’ contract by just a year; only she and Licata voted in favor. She then proposed a two-year extension, which was supported only by the two of them and Louis J. Petrucci.

After the meeting, Panepinto criticized what she said was a “lack of credibility and transparency” in the school system. She acknowledged that the system has made progress but said that it “can go on without this particular superintendent. Frankly, I think we can do better.”