Chuck Cuzzetto joked after a school board meeting earlier this month that he was no longer “acting.”

During the Jan. 10 Peninsula School District Board of Directors meeting, the board approved an amendment to Cuzzetto’s assistant superintendent contract to appoint him the full-time superintendent and to extend the expiration date to June 30, 2015.

He was officially named superintendent last month.

Last March, the board voted to appoint Cuzzetto, then deputy superintendent, as acting superintendent for the 2012-13 school year to succeed Terry Bouck, who retired at the end of the school year. Bouck went on to take a job as the superintendent of Billings Montana School District 2 in Montana.

“I was honored when the board made the appointment last month,” Cuzzetto said prior to the board meeting last week. “To be part of this great district and to work with the exceptional staff, outstanding students, engaged parents and supportive community is really an honor. I have had the privilege of working with fabulous superintendents over the last 25-plus years, including both Jim Coolican and Terry Bouck, in Peninsula.”

Cuzzetto had high praise for the board members.

“We are led by an extraordinary board of directors that provide direction, establish policies and strategies, and make difficult decisions,” Cuzzetto said.

The board was equally impressed with Cuzzetto.

“We made the choice because Chuck has definitely displayed great leadership capabilities since his being named acting superintendent,” chool board President Wendy Wojtanowicz said.

She singled out Cuzzetto’s dealing with several high-profile incidents following his appointment as acting superintendent, including a 15-minute cell phone video that went public and showed a student bullying incident at Kopachuck Middle School, and the former Gig Harbor High School principal being arrested twice on drunken-driving charges.

“He handled them in a very professional and timely manner,” Wojtanowicz said.

Cuzzetto’s presence at the district’s 15 schools and his involvement in the community also rated well with the board, she said.

According to the contract amendment, the superintendent’s base salary is $162,342 for 220 work days. For the 2012-13 contract year, Cuzzetto’s base salary is 5 percent less, at $154,225, and the work year reduced by eight furlough days, effective July 1.

Reporter Brett Davis can be reached at 253-358-4151 or by email at brett.davis@gateline.com. Follow him on Twitter @gateway_brett.