Let there be no doubt that Superintendents Markward and Benson sought and obtained jobs at the Cedar Rapids school district to increase their annual pensions by huge amounts.   When claiming only their Iowa pensions at age 65, Markward will get nearly  $22,000 per year and Benson will get at least $46,000 per year in Iowa IPERS pensions alone, for working at the district for but 5 years for Markward, and 5 years at C. R. plus 6 years at another Iowa district, for Benson, respectively. 

 Supt. Markward admittedly failed to meet objectives to improve student achievement at the end of his third year—and received huge pay and pension increases, totaling nearly $1 million total taxable income, for the failure—in the haven for failure, ghetto school district. 

 Will the district school board please explain to the public why they awarded Supt. Markward an additional $150,000 in his last two years, when they knew at the end of his third year he had failed to meet objectives?  Will they also explain why $104,184, of the $150,000, was called a Retention Supplement when the board knew he had failed to meet objectives??  

 *The Oct. 15, 2008 Gazette headline claimed:

 “No cover-up in CR schools superintendent salary”

An accurate and honest Gazette headline would read:

 C. R. BOARD PAID SUPT. MARKWARD $104,184 TO RETAIN HIM AFTER FAILURE!

 Would anyone like to ask these superintendents how much they paid into IPERS??!!  Is there any doubt they are obsessed with money??  Is there any doubt the Gazette has failed to keep its readers fully and honestly informed of the situation at the Cedar Rapids school district?  This is especially agonizing when thousands of workers in the district don’t have a job--and can’t find one!!   Some don’t even have a home!!

 Anyone can check the pension numbers out by giving this IPERS contact  http://www.ipers.org/contact.html  the income and service numbers from the following tables.   Anyone can contact the school district to verify the numbers as well. 

 HOW CEDAR RAPIDS SUPERINTENDENTS FATTEN THEIR PENSIONS

AND LEAVE THE GHETTO SCHOOL DISTRICT HOLDING THE BAG WHEN THEY FAIL!

 

Their pensions could easily approach, or exceed--$100,000 per year when their other pensions are included. 

* The In Denial Gazette previously ran a top of the front page headline, “Test Scores Not Falling in C. R.” Ya sure!!

** It was obvious he had failed to meet objectives to raise student achievement--at the end of year 3.  The Gazette doesn’t recognize or report failure, so it continues.