The contract for the superintendent of Davenport schools has been extended. Monday night, the board of education approved an extension for Art Tate to June 30, 2019. Tate is continuing his practice of not accepting a raise in his salary.
He says it would be inappropriate to accept a salary increase as the Davenport Community School District faces budget challenges.
"It is a philosophical issue," Tate says. "I am in a district where we have been reducing our budget for the last few years and I just don't feel it's right, in view of that, for me to take an increase at this time."
Tate also plans on dipping into the district's reserve funds this year to increase the amount of money spent on each student. He says the Davenport district receives $175 less per student than the district in Iowa with the highest property taxes.
Tate says he plans on using $2.7 million from the reserve fund.
"I go into a mode where I am violating statutes by doing that, so I certainly don't want it to look like I'm using that sort of money to give me a raise," Tate says.
Tate will continue to receive a salary of about $203,000 a year.
