SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman announced at a news conference Tuesday evening that she will resign from her post as schools chief.

The announcement came as Ackerman headed into a closed-door meeting with the Board of Education at San Francisco Unified School District headquarters at 555 Franklin St.

"I take great satisfaction that the school system is much stronger now than it was when I arrived some five years ago," Ackerman said.

Ackerman said she will remain with the district until June 30, 2006.

She is ending her employment with SFUSD in accordance with a "compatibility clause" in her contract.

The clause, which was added last year, allows that if the board and the superintendent are not working well together, either party can exit out of the contract, SFUSD spokeswoman Lorna Ho said last week.

Ackerman also met with the board behind closed doors on Aug. 30 for her annual performance review.

Ho said that at that meeting, the superintendent and board members discussed the compatibility clause, but did not make any decisions regarding Ackerman's future with the district.

Under the contract, the deadline for either party to exit out of the agreement was Aug. 31, but Ho said that deadline was extended at last week's meeting.