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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Next Cedar Rapids schools Superintendent Tawana Grover to provide up to 15 days of consulting services
Grover’s $305,000 a year contract starts July 1
Feb. 14, 2023 6:00 am, Updated: Feb. 14, 2023 8:32 am
CEDAR RAPIDS — Future superintendent of the Cedar Rapids Community School District Tawana Grover can provide up to 15 days of consulting services to the district before her term begins this summer under a new contract.
Grover, 47, last month was unanimously appointed superintendent, becoming the district’s first female Black leader.
She will be paid $1,168.58 for each day of consulting services she provides the district from now until June 30, under a contract approved Monday by the school board.
After that, Grover will officially start her position in the district, receiving a salary of $305,000 for the first year. Her contract is from July 1 to June 30, 2026.
Her salary will be renegotiated for the second and third year of her contract, but not for less than the annual salary of the previous year. Benefits beyond salary include:
- Health insurance, dental insurance, dependent care expenses, medical reimbursement account or additional salary;
- 33 days paid time off each year with unused days accumulating up to 43 days;
- 16 days of leave for personal or family illness or disability, which can be accumulated to 260 days;
- $600 a month for the use of the superintendent’s personal vehicle in performance of her duties;
- And up to $200 reimbursement a month for participation in civic organizations.
As superintendent, Grover will oversee the second-largest school district in Iowa and an annual budget of about $315 million. She will report to the elected officials on the Cedar Rapids school board.
There are 32 schools in the Cedar Rapids Community School District serving about 15,700 students. The district’s minority enrollment is 40 percent. Also, 39 percent of students are economically disadvantaged, according to U.S. News & World Report. There are about 3,100 employees in the district.
Grover resigned from her previous position Jan. 11 as superintendent of Grand Island Public Schools in Nebraska.
She led that school district for seven years, overseeing 23 schools and 9,920 students. The district’s minority enrollment is 60 percent, and 52 percent of students are economically disadvantaged, according to U.S. News. The majority of students at Grand Island schools — 52 percent — are Hispanic or Latino. More than 4 percent are Black.
Grover ended her three-year contract with Grand Island Public Schools over two years early. Her contract was from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2025. But she will be paid the rest of her $294,199 salary from Grand Island this year.
In a resignation agreement with the Grand Island Public Schools, Grover is to remain “on-call” through June 30, to work with the interim superintendent and facilitate the transition process. She is not required to attend meetings, report to work in-person or tend to regular duties as superintendent.
Former Cedar Rapids schools Superintendent Noreen Bush, 51, died Oct. 23. She was diagnosed with cancer more than two years ago. Art Sathoff, the retired superintendent of the Indianola Community School District, was named interim superintendent in November. Sathoff’s contract calls for a $167,000 salary, as well as benefits, through June 30.
Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com
New Cedar Rapids Community School District superintendent Tawana Grover addresses the local media for the first time after being hired Jan. 26 at the school district offices in Cedar Rapids. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)
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