Religious beliefs creating concern over CRCSD interim superintendent’s ability to perform job

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Cedar Rapids Interim Superintendent Art Sathoff gave a sermon against the teaching of evolution and people who don’t believe in God, according to videos reviewed by our KCRG-TV9 i9 Investigative Team.

According to documents, which i9 received after a public records request, Sathoff is being paid around $167,000 to fulfill the job for the remainder of the school year. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations in the district after former Superintendent Noreen Bush, who was originally also an interim superintendent, died after a more than two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer in October.

According to his LinkedIn, Sathoff worked at the Indianola Church of Christ for five months as an associate pastor before taking the position in the Cedar Rapids School District. Before he became a pastor in July 2022, he was in a different leadership position called an elder and gave sermons at the Indianola Church of Christ. According to the church’s website, one of the church’s main beliefs is the sanctity of marriage exists between one man and one woman.

Madison Atwood, who said she is an equity coach within the Cedar Rapids Community School District, emailed the board after his appointment and said a member of an LGBTQ affinity group, which had its first meeting in October, reached out to her with concern over the church’s views. She also said Sathoff’s appointment will make it more difficult for her to provide support for marginalized staff.

“We are very concerned that his [Sathoff’s] personal beliefs might have an impact on our work as a group, and certainly makes it difficult to help LGBTQ staff members feel safe and supported in the CRCSD,” Atwood wrote.

She also said marginalized employees struggle to feel like they belong, be effective in their positions and create higher rates of turnover for the district in an email.

Dexter Merschbrock, who is a member of the CRCSD Board of Education for District 4, was the only member to vote against Sathoff becoming the interim superintendent. He said he believes the church’s views could be viewed as discriminatory in a written statement and shared his concerns with fellow board members David Tominsky and Cindy Garlock.

“I remain concerned that the views of that organization, which could be viewed as discriminatory, makes Mr. Sathoff the wrong fit to be the public face of our district,” Merschbrock said.

In one sermon, which our i9 Investigative Team reviewed, Sathoff said one of the biggest threats to Christianity are people who don’t believe in God rather than “radical Islam”. He also argued against teaching evolution in a sermon as well.

“There are people who profess to be Christians, who do not believe the inerrancy of the bible,” Sathoff said in June 2020. “And who believe in evolution not creation, for example.”

Cindy Garlock, who is the Vice President for the Cedar Rapids Board of Education and voted to approve Sathoff, is a former AP Biology Teacher and uses the Twitter handle “@darwinrules”.

Concerns Over Process

Jennifer Borcherding, who is a member of the CRCSD Board of Education for District 3, said at Monday’s board meeting she was frustrated with the process used to hire an interim superintendent.

”I just felt the process, although was extraordinary and under terrible circumstances, I feel the process we followed was flawed,” she said on Monday.

Our I9 Team reached out to all seven board of education members to understand the process, like how many candidates were interviewed, around selecting an interim superintendent since Wednesday. Most board members didn’t respond.

Colleen Scholer, who is the Director of Communications for the Cedar Rapids Community School District, said in an email she was sending a message on behalf of those elected officials’ since self-imposed board regulations require the district’s communication staff to answer all media responses and follow-up questions.

She didn’t respond to any specific questions i9 related to the process used to select Sathoff or checks to ensure somebody’s personal beliefs don’t interfere with their position. But, she said in an email the Cedar Rapids Board of Education values diversity and inclusion of all students and staff and the interim superintendent is responsible for carrying out the board’s policies.

The Board has approved a strategic plan, Board policies, and regulations that include expectations related to this value,” Scholer wrote. “The Interim Superintendent serves the Board and the District generally, and is responsible for acting consistent with this strategic plan and Board policies and regulations.”

She also directed our i9 Team to a board policy, which said the board can’t make hiring decisions based on religion consistent with federal and state law. According to previous TV9 reporting, the board of education has highlighted Sathoff’s experience passing a school bond in Indianola. The Cedar Rapids Community School District is considering its own $312 Million bond issue to tear down and build new middle schools and renovate high schools across the district.

Colleen Scholer, who is the Director of Communications for the Cedar Rapids Community School District, said in an email she was sending a message on behalf of those elected officials’ since self-imposed board regulations require the district’s communication staff to answer all media responses and follow-up questions.

She didn’t respond to any specific questions i9 related to the process used to select Sathoff or checks to ensure somebody’s personal beliefs don’t interfere with their position. But, she said in an email the Cedar Rapids Board of Education values diversity and inclusion and the interim superintendent is responsible for carrying out the board’s policies.

The Board has approved a strategic plan, Board policies, and regulations that include expectations related to this value,” Scholer wrote. “The Interim Superintendent serves the Board and the District generally, and is responsible for acting consistent with this strategic plan and Board policies and regulations.”

Record Request Problem

According to the Iowa Department of Education, emails sent and received on school accounts are subject to open record laws.

TV9 is seeking legal recourse on a different public records request from the Cedar Rapids Community School District. The email from the equity coach expressing concerns over Sathoff’s personal beliefs wasn’t turned over to our i9 Team because the district said it contained personal information in confidential personnel records.

TV9 can find no personal information in the email, which means we don’t know if there were other emails the district should have given to TV9 in response to our records request. This includes any comments or replies from board members about this specific email or if another employee, parent or interest group also displayed concerns over the interim superintendent’s beliefs.

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