08/28/2026
Why I Voted YES on the Superintendent's Contract
I know some people are unhappy that I voted to approve a new three-year contract for Dr. Weiss. I want to explain why I voted the way I did and some of the things I considered before making that decision.
First, voting for a new contract does not mean that I agree with every decision Dr. Weiss has made. I don't. There are things I believe KUSD needs to do differently, and I will continue to ask questions, push for more transparency and communication, and hold our superintendent accountable.
But being a board member also means looking at the whole picture and thinking about what happens after you cast a vote.
Dr. Weiss's current contract runs through June 2027. If the board had decided not to offer him another contract, he probably wouldn't have packed up his office the next morning (although maybe he would). In all likelihood, he would have continued leading KUSD for the 2026-2027 school year knowing that his board had already decided he wouldn't be back.
Think about that for a minute.
We would be asking him to lead KUSD through some very difficult decisions while he knew he wouldn't be here to see those decisions through. How motivated would any of us be to start new initiatives, make long-term improvements, recruit people to join our team, or tackle projects that might take several years to show results if we already knew our employer had decided we were leaving?
At the same time, the board would have to begin searching for a new superintendent.
A superintendent search isn't as simple as posting a job and waiting for applications. It can take months and involves community input, recruiting candidates, interviews, background checks, contract negotiations, and transition planning. A professional national superintendent search can also cost tens of thousands of dollars. And if the timing doesn't work out, we could need an interim superintendent while we continue searching.
There is also no guarantee that we would easily find an experienced superintendent willing to take the job.
AASA, the national School Superintendents Association, describes experienced superintendent candidates as being in "short supply and high demand." Districts across Wisconsin and the country are competing for the same limited pool of experienced leaders.
Here's a comparison I found interesting.
Sun Prairie has a little over 8,600 students. KUSD has nearly 17,000. We are more than twice their size.
Sun Prairie recently conducted a national superintendent search advertising a salary of $215,000 to $245,000, with benefits to be negotiated.
KUSD is not only much larger, but we are also a diverse urban district facing some very complicated financial, academic, staffing, and operational challenges. If we went into a national search, we would be competing for someone with the experience and ability to lead a district of this size and complexity.
There is simply no reason to assume we could hire that person for what we are paying now. We could very well end up having to pay considerably more to attract the right candidate.
That brings me to another important part of this contract.
Dr. Weiss agreed to freeze his salary even though other employees received a cost-of-living increase.
He also agreed to give up his car stipend and tuition reimbursement and accept the changes to retirement and health care benefits that came with phasing out the AST agreement.
In other words, he agreed to stay for another three years with a compensation and benefits package that gives him less than he receives today.
At a time when KUSD is facing serious financial challenges and we are asking people throughout the district to make difficult adjustments, our superintendent agreed to make adjustments too.
He could have said no. He could have insisted on keeping those benefits. He could have decided to look somewhere else.
Instead, he agreed to stay.
To me, that shows a commitment to KUSD and a willingness to stay and help us work through the difficult issues ahead.
And there is another piece of this that weighed heavily on my decision.
We have a brand-new Chief of School Leadership, essentially our second-in-command, who just started in July. He is still learning KUSD, our schools, our staff, our programs, and our community.
I could not ignore what it would mean to potentially change both of the district's top leaders at essentially the same time.
KUSD already has enough on its plate.
We are facing significant financial challenges. We have difficult budget decisions ahead. We need to rebuild trust with our staff and community, and most importantly, we need to continue improving outcomes for our students.
Changing superintendents doesn't make any of those problems go away.
It simply adds another very big problem to the list.
A new superintendent would need time to learn KUSD — our schools, staff, programs, finances, community, strengths, and problems. We don't have the luxury of putting everything else on hold for a year while someone new gets up to speed.
So when it came time for me to vote, I looked at both choices.
We could keep an experienced superintendent who knows KUSD, has agreed to freeze his salary and give up benefits he currently receives, and continue to hold him accountable for moving this district forward.
Or we could spend tens of thousands of dollars on a national search, compete for a limited pool of experienced superintendents, potentially pay considerably more to attract someone capable of leading a district our size, possibly need an interim superintendent, create uncertainty for our staff and community, and then ask a brand-new superintendent to take over while KUSD is already dealing with some very difficult challenges.
For me, the first choice made more sense.
That doesn't mean Dr. Weiss gets a free pass for the next three years. He doesn't.
I will continue asking questions. I will continue pushing when I think something needs to change. I will continue advocating for greater transparency and communication. And I will continue holding our superintendent accountable for results.
But I also believe there are times when stability matters.
Right now, I believe this is one of those times.
That is why I voted yes.
