Rock Hill Schools will pay superintendent $275,000. Here’s what else is in contract
It’s official: The Rock Hill School District will welcome its new leader on July 1.
The district entered into a three-year contract on May 28 with Deborah Elder, the chief operating officer of the Iowa Department of Education.
“This is THE district I truly want to serve,” Elder said in a news release announcing her hire. “From the first day of kindergarten tears to joyful celebration with a handshake for each graduate, I will be a leader who shows up ready to listen, learn, and lead with a spirit of partnership and respect. I can’t wait to get started. Together.”
She’s one of three new York County superintendents who will take office next month. York and Fort Mill school districts also approved contracts this spring.
Here is what’s inside Elder’s Rock Hill contract.
Rock Hill approves contract for Superintendent Deborah Elder
Elder’s starting pay is $275,000 a year, but the board can increase her salary “based on satisfactory performance.”
In comparison, the new York Superintendent Heath Branham will make $200,000, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Crystal Hill was hired for $300,000.
Rock Hill will make an annual contribution to a supplemental retirement plan worth 5% of Elder’s salary in the first year of her contract, 8% in the second year and 10% in the third year. Elder will receive cost-of-living adjustments commensurate with teacher pay, too.
To move down to South Carolina, Rock Hill is paying an $8,000 relocation stipend. She’ll receive a cell phone, a laptop and an iPad with monthly device fees covered by the district.
Once here, Elder will have 20 days of vacation, 20 days of sick leave, five personal days and all district-recognized holidays.
Other expenses covered by the district include a monthly $850 automobile and maintenance allowance for in-district travel, membership dues to professional groups and reimbursement for “reasonable expenses” incurred while carrying out the job.
Who is Rock Hill’s new superintendent?
Elder has served as the second-highest leader in Iowa’s education department since 2024 and oversees a $5.1 billion system with nearly 500,000 students.
She holds multiple education degrees from the University of New Mexico and a doctorate in organizational change and leadership from the University of Southern California.
Elder has more than 30 years of experience in public education. She’s held roles as interim superintendent, chief academic officer, principal and elementary school teacher. As principal, she raised her school’s state performance grade from a “D” to an “A.”
She has also worked as the executive director of innovation and school choice for Albuquerque Public Schools, where she oversaw magnet and charter schools in the area.
She has a husband, Scott, and two grown sons, who the district said “spent many summers as family in Rock Hill.”
The board selected Elder over two other finalists: Eric Bracy, the superintendent of Johnson Public Schools in eastern North Carolina, and Joshua Starr, a Maryland-based former superintendent with nonprofit and corporate education experience.
She’ll replace Tommy Schmolze, who vacated the position at the end of January to retire. Schmolze was superintendent since 2021.
