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Ask Mr. Answer Person about hiring a consultant to find a new Decorah School Superintendent

Posted: Fri, Sep 28, 2018 1:38 PM

(Dave e-mails: "Can the Decorah School Board use the talent they have plus help from Decorah businessmen and businesswomen to find the right person for the superintendent position and put the funds they would have used into the needs of our teachers and classrooms?"):

Mr. Answer Person says: "Your question might also be phrased should the school board do this?  That's a question Mr. Answer Person can't answer.

But we can give you some background.  Three consultants have made presentations to the Decorah School Board about their services and their fees.  The fees ranged from $7,000 to $13,263.  There would also be some additional travel expenses.

The average school superintendent salary in Iowa as of September 1st was $143,705, with a range between $117,389 and $173,397.  Decorah Superintendent Mike Haluska's salary is $169,000.  If you expect a superintendent to stay in their job for 8-10 years, which is realistic for a large school district like Decorah, you're spending at least $1.5 million during that time--and that doesn't include benefits.

In addition to that, the overall school district budget for Decorah is north of $30 million, meaning a superintendent who spends 8-10 years in the job will preside over more than a quarter billion dollars in spending.

But you could argue every dollar spent needs to be spent wisely.  As Mr. Answer Person said earlier, this is a question he can't answer--but he can provide a lot of perspective."