The Iowa City Community School District board of directors is swiftly beginning the search for an interim superintendent, amid concerns with the outgoing administrator and the district’s ongoing financial crisis.
Superintendent Matt Degner announced his resignation to ICCSD students and families on Friday, May 22, citing a need to spend time with his family after his mother’s cancer diagnosis.
Degner will continue to serve as superintendent through the end of June, and pending approval, will become the ICCSD executive director of secondary schools, grades 7-12. The position is currently held by Lucas Ptacek, who is leaving for another district at the end of the school year.
At the Tuesday, May 26 regular meeting of the board of directors, community members voiced concern about whether Degner’s move to another executive administrative role is the best decision for the district.
Degner did not attend Tuesday’s meeting.
Board member Mitch Lingo said he’d be willing to offer Degner a one-year contract as executive director of secondary schools, rather than the standard two-year contract.
“Long and short of it is that I disagree with the new executive director of secondary receiving a two-year contract, as we do with other administrators in the district,” Lingo said. “I’m willing to pass with a one-year term.”
Former ICCSD board member doubts superintendent’s new role
Former ICCSD board member, Maka Pilcher Hayek, told the board Tuesday that approving Degner’s reassignment to another high-level administrative position won’t restore public trust, nor will it promote transparency amid ongoing budget issues. The troubles appeared in January after the board of directors was asked to retroactively approve a $10 million interfund loan to pay salaries. The district also failed to accurately track spending and revenue for nearly three years, fell behind on audits, and lost its bond rating.
“If you approve Matt Degner’s reassignment to another high-level administrative position, this is important; any remaining hope of the board regaining public trust is gone, and that is devastating,” Pilcher Hayek said during the public comment period. “…We really need a good board right now. We really need good leadership from you guys…If you accept this reassignment and people stop coming, I want you to understand it’s because they’ve started to give up, and that is the last thing you need.”
Iowa City resident, Laura Westmeyer, said allowing Degner to take a lesser administrative role “is the same failed governance that brought this district to its current crisis.”
“This board too often deferred to the very administration it was elected to oversee. Oversight is not ceremonial,” Westmeyer said on Tuesday. “Governance requires diligence, preparation, independent review and the courage to confront uncomfortable truths. This board failed to provide those guardrails, and our students, teachers, and community are now paying the price. I strongly oppose retaining Matt Degner in any leadership role in the ICCSD.”
Iowa City CSD debates interim superintendent search
The district’s board of directors discussed searching outside the district for an interim superintendent as well as a partnership with search firm Grundmeyer Leader Services, which led the district’s search for a new Chief Financial Officer earlier this year.
Board member Jennifer Horn-Frasier said she did not want to commit without considering other options.
“I just want to make the case for no matter what we decided to do with respect to this firm to not engage at this point in any kind of package that is interim plus full-term replacement,” Horn-Frasier said. “I would not feel comfortable making that commitment without exploring other options or other firms.”
Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and education reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at JRish@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @rishjessica_
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City CSD launches search for interim superintendent
Reporting by Jessica Rish, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
