SARASOTA COUNTY — Minutes before a judge entered the courtroom Thursday, Imagine School at North Port principal Justin Matthews was handed a termination letter from a process server who was trying to locate him most of the morning.

However after three hours of testimony at the Sarasota County Courthouse, 12th Circuit Judge Charles Williams ruled Matthews and the school’s old governing board can remain in place temporarily at Imagine School at North Port until the end of business May 31, the last day of the school year.