A contentious Pittsburgh school board last night approved a three-year extension to Superintendent Mark Roosevelt's contract that would keep him here at least until August 2011 and boost his pay to as much as $240,000.

The 7-2 vote underscored simmering tensions over the state of the Pittsburgh Public Schools 19 months into Mr. Roosevelt's efforts to overhaul academics and finances.

Board members Theresa Colaizzi, Patrick Dowd, Jean Fink, Floyd "Skip" McCrea, Thomas Sumpter and Daniel Romaniello Sr. and President Bill Isler voted for the extension, with some praising Mr. Roosevelt's speedy work to close low-performing schools and introduce programs to boost achievement. Board members Mark Brentley Sr. and Randall Taylor voted "no."

Most board members wanted to approve the extension to keep Mr. Roosevelt from looking for other work. His original three-year contract was set to expire in August 2008.

Mr. Romaniello said the board and Mr. Roosevelt had moved the district from "turmoil" to progress, regaining a measure of respect for city schools. He urged colleagues to approve the extension.

"A negative vote is a vote to return to the old days," he said, "A positive vote is, again, a vote to move forward. Always move forward."

But the speed of change has been an oft-repeated complaint of Mr. Brentley and Mr. Taylor. The pair said they could not support a contract extension when there was no evidence to show Mr. Roosevelt's initiatives were working.

"Quite frankly, there's no information on which to draw conclusions," Mr. Taylor said, adding that colleagues who supported the extension were voting "on a whim, on their gut, how they feel" when the district supposedly had made a commitment to data-based decision making.

Indeed, Mr. Roosevelt, 51, has said performance could dip this school year while students adjust to new schools and other changes. He said he anticipates some academic growth by the end of the 2007-08 school year and significant growth by the end the 2008-09 year.

Mr. Taylor said many of the people in neighborhoods he represents wouldn't want him to vote for the extension. He accused Mr. Romaniello of "rewriting history" by saying the district was in turmoil under the previous superintendent, John Thompson.

Mr. Taylor said test scores improved under Dr. Thompson and asked, "Anybody want to debate that?"

Mr. Brentley called the extension an "insult" to taxpayers and unhappy parents, saying his constituents aren't clamoring for Mr. Roosevelt to stay.

"In some cases, we're hearing completely the opposite," he said.

While test scores have grown in recent years, the district was in a precarious financial and academic situation when Mr. Roosevelt took over. He said last night that the district isn't out of the woods yet.

"We have a lot of work to do," he said, adding that the district must stick to an ambitious agenda if it wants to turn its affairs around.

Mr. Roosevelt won support of business and civic leaders for uniting the board around his school-closing plan and reining in the board's penchant for micromanagement.

But some parents have complained about fallout from changes he's brought to the district, such as discipline problems at elementary schools that expanded last summer to take in sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from middle schools.

Mr. Roosevelt joined the district in August 2005 at a salary of $165,000. A former Massachusetts lawmaker who had written a landmark education bill, he had no experience running a school district.

The board voted last summer to boost his pay to $180,000 after concluding he had met a list of goals set for him for the 2005-06 school year. Mr. Roosevelt will get another $15,000 raise this August, boosting his pay to $195,000, provided he meets the goals set for him this school year.

The extension would make him eligible for similar raises in 2008, 2009 and 2010, meaning his pay could reach $240,000 by August 2010.

Mr. Roosevelt makes more than some superintendents of wealthier districts in the area, but he's running a much larger district, with severe academic problems. Mt. Lebanon Superintendent George Wilson makes $140,500, Upper St. Clair Principal Patrick O'Toole makes $140,000 and Quaker Valley Superintendent Joseph H. Clapper makes $132,500.

The contract also enhances Mr. Roosevelt's life insurance and retirement benefits. The district, which has been contributing $30,000 a year to Mr. Roosevelt's retirement, will increase that to $40,000 annually this August.