Wednesday may have marked the end of the month, but for Lyle residents it marked the end of a long struggle between neighbors.

Former Lyle Public School Superintendent Jim Dusso’s last official day came and went without trouble, as the superintendent/principal leaves the district to move to Kentucky.

Dusso’s tenure as superintendent was controversial, as many Lyle residents spoke out against his management style while many supporters stood behind the educational reform he brought to Lyle schools.

Residents began criticizing his tenure almost immediately, whether through his trip to Texas for administrative training that cost the district more than $3,000 or reports he spoke to a teachers’ union representative on how to deal with specific teachers. Soon, rumors swirled surrounding his actions towards staff and students, with critics saying he used fear and intimidation to achieve his goals while supporters said he realigned the district’s teaching structure, changed curriculum to match Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment standards and got staff thinking more about meeting federal No Child Left Behind mandates.

“I knew I was going to disrupt lives,” Dusso said in September. “I knew I was going to make change for some people that was decades old. I did not arrive at that easily.”

The Daily Herald could not reach Dusso despite multiple attempts. Dusso was last in Lyle Monday as he used up two vacation days Tuesday and Wednesday to round out his last two days under contract.

Controversy stuck to Dusso as he became a lightning rod for the community.

All four bus drivers under Lyle’s transportation staff either quit or were fired during the current school year, and non-teaching staff unionized in December, which some members said was largely in response to Dusso’s management.

The board quickly adopted a public comment policy prohibiting people from speaking to the board without 10 days’ notice before monthly meetings, due to the response they received from residents, parents and grandparents over Dusso. The move was widely considered stifling, eventually escalating tension between critics and supporters of Dusso, which led to as many as 80 people regularly attending monthly board meetings to express their dissatisfaction with Lyle’s administration.

The board faced severe backlash after a September meeting when it adjourned while board member Dan King tried to explain his reasons for criticizing Dusso and read a letter from the board asking him to resign if he did not cease publicly questioning Dusso’s leadership.

The situation escalated further in November, when Mower County Sheriff’s deputies removed three women protesting the board’s public comment policy, including King’s mother. King’s wife and former bus driver/Lyle City Councilman Gary Harrison were also asked to leave by deputies under orders from the board.

“It’s a shame that it ever had to happen,” Harrison said about the troubles surrounding Lyle school. “It didn’t have to happen as far as I’m concerned.”

Dusso filed a restraining order against Harrison after alleging Harrison threatened him during the November meeting. TV footage from Channel 6 during the incident in question showed Harrison making disparaging remarks, but never threatening him. Harrison successfully negotiated a way to see his grandchildren’s winter and spring concerts, though he could not step foot in Lyle schools or near Dusso. Now that Dusso has left the district, Harrison plans to challenge the restraining order once more in court. He said his attorney tried to contact Dusso about dropping the restraining order but thus far hasn’t heard from him.

“The only thing we can do now is try to mend the fences and move forward,” Harrison said.

That’s what board chairman Jerry Sampson hopes for. One of the newest members to the board came on in January after former member Scott Nelson resigned in November, as his family moved to Austin. Sampson was elected board chairman after former chairman Dean Rohne resigned in January.

“It’s all past history,” Sampson said Wednesday. “It doesn’t matter who was against who, and what they thought. We start out from scratch, forget about the past.”

Sampson is pleased with interim superintendent/principal Joe Guanella, a former Alden-Conger superintendent. The board hired Guanella last week to run Lyle school until June 30, by which time board members will hire a part-time superintendent and full-time principal.

“I think he’s exactly what we needed,” Sampson said. “Everything that he said is just exactly what we need. He’s got the experience and he’s got the ideas that’ll help us grow.”