Lyon County School Board Approves $735,000 Contract For New Superintendent

The Lyon County School District, the fourth largest school district in Nevada, includes 18 schools serving approximately 9,000 students and 1,100 employees. In the wake of Superintendent Wayne Workman’s resignation this fall, the Deputy Superintendent Tim Logan was chosen by the Board of Trustees as Workman’s replacement. The school district, unlike other neighboring school districts, did not choose to do a national search for the Superintendent position.

Last night, the Board of Trustees, by a majority 5-2 vote, approved a new three-year contract for Logan. Trustee’s Tom Hendrix and Sherry Parsons voted against the contract.

The contract, which begins July 2024 (see below), awards a starting yearly salary of $225,000, plus a $15,000 yearly contribution to a 403(b) retirement plan. Logan’s annual salary will then be increased to $230,000 in year two and increased to $235,000 in year three. The $15,000 yearly contribution to the retirement plan remains throughout the contracted term.

Additionally, the Superintendent, if fired without cause during the three-year term, will be awarded the entire contract as severance, as opposed to a 12-month severance package. The sum of the severance would be approximately $735,000 (excluding accrued vacation/sick time, leave, medical, etc).

By comparison, the Carson City School District Superintendent currently makes $171,000 and is of similar size to Lyon. The Elko County School District Superintendent currently makes $180,000. Elko county is a slightly larger school district than Lyon County.

Trustee Hendrix told The Globe:

“By majority vote the school board did a disservice to the Lyon County School District and the students. We will never know if this is the best choice because we did not search outside of our district and compare other options. Setting that aside, I’m not voting against the person. I object to the wording in the contract–in particular, the starting salary and the severance package.

The severance package wording that has been changed in this contract gives the Superintendent a severance package that includes being paid in full for the entire term of the contract–regardless of what actions or inaction he takes. This is unheard of and could detrimentally effect our district. There is no performance standard and there is no accountability.

I can’t believe that a majority of Trustees on this board put our district at financial risk in this way, nor can I believe that a Superintendent who really cares about our district would accept such terms.”