Lyon County school board OKs superintendent pact

The Lyon County School Board on Tuesday approved a superintendent contract with Tim Logan, effective July 1, 2024.

The board appointed Logan, the district’s current deputy superintendent, as its new superintendent Nov. 28. Board President Phil Cowee created a subcommittee with members Bridget Peterson, Darin Farr and Holly Villines to oversee the contract with Logan, and the meeting took place Dec. 11 in Yerington.

“I don’t believe we could have negotiated a more fair and thorough contract,” Farr said. “I believe we are so far ahead of the process with a homegrown candidate, the other districts are going to have to look at us as a model as how to succeed.”

According to a district board memo, the subcommittee reviewed Superintendent Wayne Workman’s contract as a basis for negotiations. Workman is resigning at the end of June.

Discussion included an examination of Nevada superintendents’ salaries for comparison. Lyon County was projected to have a 75 to 90% percentile range based on size with a median salary between $215,473 and $249,066.

The subcommittee recommended a three-year contract with a salary of $225,000 for the first year, $230,000 for the second year and $235,000 beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2027.

“Our deputy superintendent (Logan) is currently making $185,000,” Peterson said. “Any kind of job promotion would also necessitate a pay increase.”

But Trustee Sherry Parsons, who opposed choosing a local candidate in November, disagreed with the salary being offered. Language in the contract states in the event the board discharges the superintendent without cause by a minimum of 90 days written notice, the district “shall pay to the superintendent as severance pay all of the aggregate salary, allowances and compensation he would have earned under the employment contract for the remainder of the contract.”

“This contract is insane, which means I think you have to be insane,” Parsons said. “If the test scores went down again and we decided we did not want the superintendent, this contract is set up so that he would get over $700,000 in severance pay. … That’s what the average person would say. You were not thinking of our children when you were making this contract.”

Peterson, citing Washoe County School District’s process in 2021 when it paid a search firm $60,000, said she believed it was better to pay the sum to Lyon’s staff rather to an outside group for a candidate search.

Trustee Tom Hendrix joined Parsons in opposing the contract.

“This board … did a disservice to Lyon County School District and the students because regardless of whether or not Mr. Logan is the best choice, we will never know that because we don’t have options to compare that to,” he said. “I am not against the person, but I am against the contract salary.”

Cowee offered Logan a chance to speak on the proposed contract, who stated it has been at least five years since Lyon’s superintendent position has had a raise with other local unions receiving 14 or 20 percent cost of living adjustments in collective bargaining agreements.

“In my mind, I’m falling in line with the Nevada average, and I’d be right in the range of that, but I don’t take things at face value,” Logan said. “This will stay the same for five years, and I’m more than willing to answer questions. I appreciate the negotiation process that has taken place.”

Villines said she was on board with the process itself and with Logan as the district’s next superintendent.

“He knows our strengths, he knows our weaknesses, and I feel confident because his mentor has been Wayne Workman,” she said.

"I am truly thankful to the Lyon County School Board and for their commitment to the district, the students, the staff and our community," Logan told the Appeal Wednesday. "I am excited for the partnership that has been created and I look forward to serving alongside them in this great work. Our students deserve the very best we have to offer every day and I am lucky to see this mindset from the great people that work with our students. Mr. Workman will be missed, as he has worked hard to bring success to the Lyon County School District, and I have appreciated his kid-first decision-making, and I hope to be able to carry that forward as I step into this role come July 1."

The board approved Logan’s contract 5-2, with Hendrix and Parsons opposing.