Superintendent search cost Madison School District more than $100K
When the Madison School District hired Joe Gothard as superintendent after a nearly yearlong search for a new leader, many felt he was the clear choice for the job.
Gothard grew up in Madison, has a long history as a student, teacher and administrator in the district, and has received national recognition for his work as a superintendent in Minnesota.
But the nationwide search for a new leader that ended with Gothard's hiring wasn't an inexpensive endeavor: The district spent more than $100,000 on contracts with consulting groups, catering, hotels and travel during the search, according to records provided to the Wisconsin State Journal via an open records request.
This is on top of Gothard's starting salary of $299,000 a year, which puts him well ahead of the district leaders that came before him. Interim Superintendent Lisa Kvistad received $271,900 for her one-year contract with the district. Carlton Jenkins, who spent three years as superintendent before exiting in June 2023, received an annual salary of $272,000, according to his contract .
Gothard also gets regular raises and retirement contributions as part of his contract, along with a generous chunk of paid time off.
Apart from Gothard's compensation package, the biggest expense during the search for a new superintendent was the district's contract with Alma Advisory Group. Alma is a Chicago-based firm that helped facilitate the hiring process, leading public input sessions, writing job descriptions, screening candidates and facilitating final interviews.
The district's contract with Alma was for a maximum amount of $95,000 and ran from May 2023 until June 2024. Records show the district paid nearly that entire amount, about $94,260, to Alma in five separate invoices.
Several Alma employees traveled to and from Madison at various times for community meetings and interviews. The district reimbursed Alma about $5,360 for those flights, hotel, transportation and meals.
The district also reimbursed Alma for about $1,600 to promote the job opening to candidates around the country. This included promotion with education organizations, such as the American Association of School Administrators and the Wisconsin School Leadership Center, among others.
And when Gothard, along with the two other finalists for the job, traveled to Madison for several days of interviews in February, the district spent to $1,720 cover those costs. This included travel to Madison from Minnesota, Maryland and Indiana. Hotel rooms for the three candidates in February at a DoubleTree hotel cost nearly $2,000.
After officially getting the superintendent job, Gothard returned to Madison in March and April for introductions and an initial press conference. Those hotel rooms cost about $870.
Money spent on catering and food throughout the interviews, which included student and community panels, also added up quickly. About $1,000 was spent on meals from Subway, Ian's Pizza, Rocky Rococo, Panera Bread and catering from Madison College.
Joe Gothard's starting salary of $299,000 a year puts him well ahead of the district leaders who came before him, including Lisa Kvistad and Carlton Jenkins.
