Des Moines school district's decade of superintendent challenges

Former DMPS Superintendent Tom Ahart, 2013-2022

Ahart — who was appointed as DMPS superintendent in 2013 — became the center of controversy during the pandemic over the district's decision not to hold in-person classes, violating Gov. Kim Reynolds' rule that at least 50% of classes must be held in school.

• The school board voted 4-3 in May 2021 not to renew his contract, which ended in June 2023.
• Then, in August 2021, a letter of public reprimand was placed in Ahart's permanent licensure file and he was required to complete ethics training by the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners to resolve his decision not to hold in-person classes.

Fast forward: In March 2022, the school board agreed to pay Ahart through his contract but allowed him to leave a year early.

• Ultimately, Ahart walked away with a $400,000 severance agreement.

Former DMPS Superintendent Nancy Sebring, 2006-2012

In 2012, former DMPS Superintendent Nancy Sebring resigned earlier than expected when it was discovered she had sent sexually explicit emails using her school email account.

State of play: Sebring was leaving DMPS to work as the Omaha superintendent, but a Des Moines Register investigation about her emails prompted her to resign from the Omaha role and file a lawsuit against DMPS for invasion of privacy.

• The DMR story was published after Sebring abruptly resigned from her DMPS role earlier than planned. Initially, then-DMPS school board president Teree Caldwell-Johnson said Sebring was retiring earlier because of family obligations.
• The district's insurer settled for $350,000, per the Register.