Cedar Rapids school superintendent is overpaid

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The Cedar Rapids School Board is out of touch. In a unanimous vote, not one member thought it a bad idea to grant the new District Superintendent an $80,000 raise to bump the position’s salary to $260,000.

Noreen Bush is well-suited for the public sector job, but $260,000 to manage a declining 16,852 student population is TWICE what the governor of the state of Iowa makes, with a population of 3.1 million.

This letter is not about income inequality, but about the excessive and unnecessary tax burden put on homeowners who pay Ms. Bush’s salary.

Taxpayers are told year after year that teachers struggle financially, in and out of the classroom. Taxpayers donate generously to children’s “backpack school supply’ programs. Taxpayers pay for bloated administrative positions even if they have no children in the school district.

The Cedar Rapids School Board recently voted to close 8 schools and rebuild 10 others, despite the outcry of the community, yet in some way think it wise to pay an administrator $21 a minute to oversee a school district that has historically had difficulties maintaining enrollment.

While this letter isn’t about income inequality, it is important to note that Bush will make $104 an hour for a 50 hour work week. Despite the average Cedar Rapidian making $14 - $16 an hour, the School Board voted to pay Bush eight times what the taxpaying base makes. The raise alone is more than two times the average yearly taxpayer’s income.

This is not right.

Wendy Hartman

Cedar Rapids