Iowa City schools Superintendent Matt Degner gets new 3-year contract

IOWA CITY — Iowa City schools Superintendent Matt Degner’s next three-year contract was approved Tuesday by the school board in a 6-1 vote.

School board member Jayne Finch voted “no” — not because she opposed a new contract but because she opposed the amount of deferred compensation in it, she said.

“No other district in Iowa to my knowledge gives 15 percent deferred compensation,” Finch said. “Most similarly-sized districts are between 5 to 10 percent deferred compensation. The issue with getting that large of a deferred compensation as a part of the total compensation is that it makes the salary appear artificially low.”

Finch said she would prefer a contract that was more “straightforward.”

“If this board wants to provide compensation at the top range of superintendents in the state, which is what we’re trending towards, I would prefer that we do it simply by raising the salary,” Finch said.

The three-year contract sets Degner’s salary at $249,491 in the first year, about a 3 percent increase over $241,755 now. He would be eligible for an annual salary increase equal to the average percentage increase received by full-time teachers and administrators.

He is eligible to participate in a deferred-compensation plan and a supplemental retirement plan equal to 15 percent of his base salary, which is $37,423.

Degner was named superintendent of the district in January 2021, after serving as interim superintendent for two years prior.

School board President Ruthina Malone thanked Degner for his “work, commitment and dedication.”

“It has not been an easy year with some of the decisions you have had to present to the board. It requires a strong leader to rally the troops, even during hard years where they’re still excited about the work they’re doing,” Malone said.

School board member Charlie Eastham also said he is “very pleased” with the superintendent’s work.

Eastham said he believes the board is being transparent in the superintendent’s compensation package as it’s a public document.

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