By Emily Girsch.

In a short meeting Wednesday night, the Binghamton Board of Education decided unanimously to place Superintendent Marion Martinez on administrative leave, effective immediately.


"The relationships in the district have been strained to the point that it was difficult to move forward and we felt that we had to make a change to get the district moving back in the direction that we want it to go," said Binghamton Board of Education President David Hawley.


This announcement by the school board came after months of complaints by parents and even teachers about her lack of leadership.


Parents and teachers reacted to the news with relief.


"I'm encouraged about having safer schools, having more support for administration, for teachers and hopefully moving forward in a more positive direction than we have," said parent and teacher Coralie Graham.


Retired Binghamton administrator Steven Deinhardt has been appointed Interim Superintendent in her place. Deinhardt retired in August 2012 after 10 years as assistant superintendent for the administration.


"He's a good fit right now for what our district needs," said parent and teacher Michele Rozen.


"We need somebody who can bring everyone together and not separate and I think Steve can do that."


Deinhardt will be meeting with Board of Education President David Hawley in a public meeting on Thursday at 11 a.m.


Martinez, who is currently on vacation, will be given 60 days notification of her contract termination, in accordance with her employment agreement.


Once those 60 days are up, the agreement will be terminated.