Cedar Rapids school board member questioned proposed ‘large raises’ for executive leaders

CEDAR RAPIDS — Proposed raises for executive leadership staff in the Cedar Rapids school district range from 6 to 22 percent as they take on new and expanded roles.

The “large raises” are why school board member Jennifer Borcherding voted against a personnel report earlier this month. The report failed in a 4-3 vote last week, with Borcherding, board Vice President Marcy Roundtree, Kaitlin Byers and Nancy Humbles voting “no.”

In emails between Borcherding and school board President Cindy Garlock — obtained by The Gazette through a public records request — Borcherding expressed concern about proposed pay increases for executive leadership positions in the July 14 personnel report.

Borcherding, in the emails, said the proposed pay rates are “incongruous” with rates agreed upon with bargaining groups and approved by the board. Teachers in the Cedar Rapids district received a 3 percent base wage increase for the 2025-26 school year.

Administrators in the district are not part of a bargaining group.

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“Joining a group for special consideration with another group that already has an agreement over rate due to union negotiations and prior agreement looks like special consideration group salaries are trying to be hidden. It mirrors a good bill with bad amendments. I hope you too see this inconsistency and understand how the public may feel deceived by this presentation,” Borcherding wrote to Garlock on July 11.

Following the board vote July 14, Borcherding requested the personnel agreement be brought back to the school board within 10 days and “without the personnel that are direct reports to (Superintendent) Dr. (Tawana) Grover,” according to emails.

“We need to omit from that report anyone who is receiving more than 2.8 percent increase if that number was reached outside of negotiations,” Borcherding wrote.

Eight employees were left off the personnel report unanimously approved by the school board in a special session Monday.

Borcherding requested a separate personnel report with those eight employees be brought back to the board within 30 days of the July 14 meeting, and she asked that the board be provided information about pay for similar positions in other Iowa school districts.

The eight positions removed from the report have been expanded in recent weeks to accommodate an 11 percent reduction in staffing at the district’s leadership level that was approved by the board and began July 1. The district said the downsizing of administrative staff — including the elimination of a chief data officer, chief academic officer, chief of staff, and executive director of behavior supports — would save $585,000.

“I’m really proud of our staff here being willing to expand their roles and take on a wealth of additional responsibilities to ensure we were able to keep our resources where they matter most, and that’s at the classroom level with our students,” Grover told The Gazette in May.

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Borcherding, in emails this month, asked for an explanation of how remaining leaders would be taking on additional duties.

“What is being cut from each full time position to be able to combine two full time positions into one full time position?” Borcherding wrote. “There is concern about our ability to be able to deliver on items with fidelity.”

“We are doing too much too quickly and important things like effective communication and relationship building are the casualties ... These are items that should be discussed at the board table. The board needs to be able to publicly review, deliberate and justify actions,” Borcherding wrote.

Borcherding also requested a five-year projected trend of enrollment “as this is going to greatly influence the financial sustainability of these large raises and our overall capacity,” she wrote.

“The board needs to have a public discussion realizing, recognizing and justifying any significant increase … This is how the board has traditionally operated. This is the atmosphere we need to maintain moving forward,” Borcherding said.

In an email to The Gazette Thursday, Heather Butterfield, spokeswoman for the district, said she does not know when the executive leadership positions and others will be brought back to the board for a vote.

Borcherding included board Vice President Marcy Roundtree, Superintendent Grover, and interim office assistant to Grover Heather Marner in her correspondence to Garlock.

In an email July 15, Borcherding also included board member Kaitlin Byers and said she forwarded the email to board member Nancy Humbles.

Report reflects ‘responsibilities of the new roles’

The “personnel report reflects changes in assignment or position which, per standard practice, result in salary adjustments consistent with the responsibilities of the new roles,” Garlock wrote in an email to Borcherding.

“These adjustments are tied to the reorganization of executive cabinet level responsibilities,” Garlock wrote. “These changes address long-standing salary inequities among members of the district’s senior leadership team … No increases exceed what would be expected for the reassigned roles.”

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Garlock told Borcherding she consulted with the district’s legal counsel, who advised the district maintain one personnel report rather than break out the executive leadership positions in to a second personnel report, as suggested by Borcherding prior to the July 14 meeting.

“We share your commitment to transparency and to following established board processes. The intent is not to single out individuals, but to ensure accurate and fair reflection of staffing updates. We remain mindful of the importance of process integrity,” Garlock wrote.

“Equally important is the board’s shared responsibility to uphold public trust. It is critical that our actions reflect transparency and fairness. Ensuring the public understands that these changes are aligned with district needs is essential,” she wrote.

Who was left off the revised personnel report?

Under the proposed reorganization of district leadership, Karla Hogan would act as district deputy while retaining her current position as chief financial officer. Hogan’s salary for the 2025 fiscal year salary, which ended June 30, was $176,795, and her proposed new salary is $199,250, a 12.7 percent increase.

Chad Schumacher, the district’s operation director, would add technology to his role if approved by the board. Schumacher’s 2025 fiscal year salary was $139,000, and his proposed new salary is $152,665, a 9.8 percent increase.

Adam Zimmermann, the district’s executive director of innovation, would absorb some responsibilities of the chief data officer — a position eliminated from the district — and will continue to serve as principal of City View Community High School under the proposed plan. His 2025 fiscal year salary was $167,389, and his proposed salary is $177,505, a 6 percent increase.

The Office of Academics is being restructured to continue to meet the needs of students, families and staff. Many responsibilities will be absorbed by the district’s three chiefs of schools. Each of their proposed salaries is $177,505.

Maura Hobson’s proposed title is chief of schools Area 1 & chief of curriculum, Instruction and Assessments. Her fiscal year 2025 salary was $164,750, and she’s proposed to receive a 7.7 percent salary increase.

Ryals Parker’s proposed title is chief of schools Area 2 & behavior supports. He is currently executive director of behavior supports and would replace Linda Reysack — who retired earlier this summer — as chief of schools for Area 2. His fiscal year 2025 salary was $145,365, and his new salary would be a 22 percent increase.

Mark Timmerman’s proposed title is chief of schools Area 3 and personalized programming. His fiscal year 2025 salary was $164,750. The proposed new salary would be a 7.7 percent increase.

Two other staff members’ titles and salaries have not been approved by the school board. Those people are Derek Loutsch, whose 2025 fiscal year salary was $85,672, and his proposed salary is $97,080, a 13 percent increase. The other is Heather Marner, whose 2025 fiscal year salary was $62,430, and her proposed salary is around $66,310, a 6 percent increase.

Evan Watson of The Gazette contributed to this report.

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