Kansas City, Mo. ? An unexpectedly large turnout at a Kansas City Board of Education meeting Wednesday night prompted members to hold off a decision on the future of Superintendent of Schools Bernard Taylor.

The crowd included both supporters and opponents of Taylor, who has led the district for four and one-half years. He said he was surprised and heartened by the turnout.

“I really had no idea that many people would care about this,” said Taylor, who left before the closed portion of the meeting at which the board decided not to vote yet on renewing his contract. “What I take away from tonight is that this has not been an easy road, but it has been, oh, so worth it.”

His contract runs through June, but the board must inform him by the end of the year whether it will be renewed.

“The board was prepared to take a vote,” said its attorney, Maurice Watson. “But they decided they want to give appropriate consideration to the views of the many people who had not previously made their views known to the board.”

Among those speaking in support of Taylor were leaders of several black community groups and three current or former state legislators. They said the district has had stability under Taylor, and gained provisional accreditation from the state with a chance for full accreditation.

“We want to continue the positive things that are going on,” said Anita Russell, local president of the NAACP.

Critics said the school district has been floundering academically and that Taylor has often been abrasive.

“It’s time to stop making excuses for this poor performance,” said Kelley Cramm, who stood before the board with a group eight parents. She said Taylor has been “hostile” to parents and community members. She pointed to declines in enrollment and the graduation rate and a wider gap between black and white students on performance tests.