Kriner Cash received an A this year for the job he has done as superintendent of the Buffalo Public Schools.

Cash on Tuesday scored a 3.5, out of 4, on his annual performance evaluation from his bosses – the Buffalo Board of Education.

In fact, it was the highest score the board has given Cash since he took over as leader of the school district in 2015.

It's a good sign for him.

Cash is heading into the final year of his contract, which expires in 2020, and there has been talk of offering him an extension once a new School Board – voted into office in May – takes over July 1.

The Board of Education met with Cash Tuesday – behind closed doors for more than two hours – and afterward released a statement commending him.

“It has been many years since BPS families and the community have talked so publicly about being pleased with their school experiences and what our schools have to offer them,” Board President Barbara Seals Nevergold said.

“Dr. Cash would be the first to recognize the fragility of these achievements and the ongoing challenge of managing change,” Nevergold said. “We know that he will continue to work collaboratively with the board and all district stakeholders to sustain the positive momentum of the Buffalo Public Schools.”

Board members graded Cash on a scale of 1 (needs improvement) to 4 (excellent) in key areas. Those grades were averaged and compiled into an overall composite score of 3.5.

“I don’t know what it means, it looks like an A, A-minus something like that," Cash said.

"But the main point for me is we had a great conversation for almost three hours," he said, after the meeting. "We talked about areas where we need to improve, but most importantly everybody is celebrating the achievements and accomplishments that we’re doing together and that came out in the comments in the evaluation.”

He said the scores are a reflection on the entire district staff.

Cash earned his highest marks – a 3.79 – for leading change, while his lowest score was a 3.05, for his relationship with the board.

“The improvement areas are really only one main one,” Cash said. “The board likes to feel like they’re in the loop on things that are going on around the district and we disagreed a little bit on what that means, but that’s certainly something we can continue to work on.”

Board member Larry Quinn, who has probably been the most critical of the district's performance, was the only one of the nine board members not to give the superintendent an evaluation.

Neither Quinn nor board member Patricia Pierce were in attendance Tuesday.

Cash earned a 3.14 out of 4 last year, and a 2.95 out of 4 the year prior.

His salary this year was $296,145.

Since coming to Buffalo in 2015, Cash – the former superintendent of the Memphis City Schools – has provided some stability for a troubled urban district, where the superintendent’s office has been a revolving door in recent years.

He’s credited with charting a clear course for the Buffalo Public Schools with a multipronged approach for reform, dubbed the Education Bargain. That has included a focus on smaller class sizes in the early grades, more options in high schools to give kids a better chance to graduate and opening schools after hours and on weekends to provide additional services for the neediest students and their families.

Buffalo’s graduation rate has hovered around 64 to 65% the last three years. That’s better than the 48% from as recent as 2012, but still lower than the 70% Cash has set as a goal.

The number of city schools considered to be in good standing by the state has more than doubled to 37 during his tenure, while the number of those in jeopardy of being shut down has dropped from 25 to three. Critics, though, question how much of that progress is due to changes in the state's accountability system for schools.

Cash was named one of the Outstanding Citizens for 2018 by The Buffalo News.

There has been discussion in recent months about offering Cash an extension once the new board takes over. There had been some reluctance among current members to entertain a contract extension when this board is on its way out.