Des Moines school board hires administrator Matt Smith as interim superintendent

Samantha Hernandez
Des Moines Register

Des Moines Public Schools Associate Superintendent Matt Smith will lead Iowa's largest and most diverse school district as interim superintendent next school year. 

The Des Moines School Board unanimously approved hiring Smith for the district's top leadership position without discussion during Tuesday's meeting. Smith, who joined the district in 2010 as North High School's principal, was one of two internal candidates being considered for the position. He was named associate superintendent in 2018. 

Smith said he is planning to spend the next school year focusing on building relationships within the district and community, and establishing trust with staff. Additionally, he will focus on student achievement. 

"We have great, unique individual leaders across our district at every level," Smith said. "That only is going to be effective for us if we all work together, we all work collaboratively for the betterment of our students, staff and families."

Related:'Goodbye, Des Moines': Tom Ahart resigning as DMPS superintendent after nearly a decade

Superintendent Tom Ahart announced his resignation in February after 10 years in the job, including during the global coronavirus pandemic. District officials' handling of the pandemic drew scrutiny from Iowa politicians and earned the longtime superintendent a written reprimand from the state Board of Educational Examiners. The school board also declined to extend his contract last year. The board did not give a reason for the move due to it being a personnel matter.  

The school board is looking forward to working with the interim superintendent. 

Smith is someone who "knows the district inside and out," said board Chair Dwana Bradley. 

Related:Who is Matt Smith, the Des Moines Public Schools' candidate for interim superintendent?

“He has the energy and the excitement to really push this district where it needs to go,” Bradley said.

Matt Smith

Board goals will be a priority next school year, Bradley and Smith said. The board's goals include increasing educational outcomes for Black male students in the areas of algebra and reading. 

The Des Moines Education Association is excited to work with Smith next year on the school calendar and school safety, among other issues, union President Josh Brown said in an interview before the vote. 

Matt Smith's one-year contract

Smith will be paid $260,000 from July 1 to June 30, 2023, and is required to work 260 days, his contract states. He will also receive a payment to a tax-sheltered annuity for 14% of his annual salary. 

Related:Here's how much money Tom Ahart is getting after he leaves Des Moines Public Schools

His contract includes 25 days of vacation, $500 per month for using his car for travel related to district business, $100 a month for cellphone reimbursement, plus costs for an executive coach, and membership fees for professional organizations. 

Ahart's salary is $306,000 per year, plus benefits. 

Smith's new contract notes if the board does not hire him as its superintendent for the 2023-24 school year, he will be offered his old job back. 

Smith has not decided if he will apply to serve as superintendent beyond serving in the interim.  

"I think where my mind is right now is making sure that we get all of our leaders and all of our teachers, and our staff operating around the same goal around the same mission and vision ... on what we're here to do for children and for families,” Smith said. “And then as the year plays out next year, I'll sit down with my wife and with my kids, and with those that I hold super, super dear to me, and we'll have those conversations.”

The school board has yet to release a timeline for its national superintendent's search. 

DMPS Staff bonuses 

Also at Tuesday's meeting, the board approved an agreement to give all employees, not just the teaching staff, a $1,250 retention bonus, Brown said. The bonuses will be funded through federal COVID education funds. 

"That was an important piece of one of the things that we had lots of conversations about, and wanting to make sure that was available for everybody and not creating a system of kind of haves and have-nots," he said. 

Samantha Hernandez covers education for the Register. Reach her at (515) 851-0982 or svhernandez@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @svhernandez or Facebook at facebook.com/svhernandezreporter.