DULUTH — The Duluth school board approved a three-year contract extension for Superintendent John Magas Tuesday night.
His salary will increase nearly 5% the first year, with 2% increases the following years. He currently earns about $195,000.
The increases are meant to align with superintendent pay in similarly-sized Minnesota districts, a news release says.
Magas said he was "humbled" by the support of the board.
"Entering the role of superintendent during the pandemic certainly had its share of challenges, but it also illuminated the strength and resilience of our students and the unwavering dedication of our staff members," he said in the release.
Magas started working for the district in the summer of 2020. He came to Minnesota from Green Bay, where he worked as an associate superintendent for four years in a district with more than 20,000 students. He's also taught workplace literacy classes in a beef slaughter plant in Washington and spent seven years as a teacher and assistant principal at a high school on the Yakama Indian Reservation. He served as a middle school principal and director of secondary education for two other districts in Wisconsin before his time in Green Bay.
In Duluth, he's managed remote learning during the pandemic and a study of the use of police officers in secondary schools.
He replaced longtime Duluth schools leader Bill Gronseth, who left to head southern Minnesota's St. Peter school district.
