File photo by James Glover II / Star staff Elizabeth DeVita, greeting students at Isbell Middle School in August, is stepping down after one year as superintendent.

The superintendent of the Santa Paula Elementary School District is stepping down after only a year on the job, district officials announced Wednesday.

Elizabeth DeVita took over as superintendent of the K-8 district in July, replacing Luis Villegas, who resigned at the end of the 2006-07 school year.

DeVita's last official day on the job will be Monday, but she was not in the office Wednesday and is expected to remain on leave for the rest of the month.

District officials said DeVita's resignation was by mutual agreement, which came after weeks of meetings with attorneys.

Those discussions were "productive and amicable," said school board President Gary Marshall. "But it's never an easy thing to lose someone like this."

He said there were several issues on which the board and DeVita did not see eye to eye, prompting the separation.

Under her three-year contract, DeVita — earning $155,000 annually — is eligible for an additional 18 months' salary if released without cause.

After the latest negotiations, the board voted unanimously Tuesday night to give DeVita six months' salary, with an option for an additional four months' worth if she is not employed at that point.

DeVita, assistant superintendent of instruction in the Morongo Unified School District for five years before coming to Santa Paula, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Both Marshall and Trustee Tony Perez said they couldn't think of any specific disputes between the board and superintendent, but that differences of opinions on district leadership began to surface in the past six months.

On Wednesday, teachers union President Carolyn Ishida released a statement in support of the board's action. She said later that the union had been concerned about a lack of experience that seemed to lead top district officials to seek costly consultants and legal counsel. Labor negotiations between the union and district were successful but particularly tough this year, she said.

Marshall said the board is reviewing options for replacing DeVita, including a cost-savings plan to hire one administrator to serve as both superintendent and chief financial officer, a position that also recently became vacant.

The board would like to have a permanent superintendent in place before school starts and plans to meet Tuesday to discuss hiring an interim replacement.