The COO position was first created in 2019 when Jill Gildea was superintendent. Michael Tanner has held the role for the past six years.
The district announced April 3 it has eliminated the position, saying it is part of restructuring administrative roles.
Superintendent Lyndsay Huntsman was appointed in January. The district said one of the first tasks she took on was assessing the administrative structure of the district to determine what positions could be cut to reduce administrative overhead costs.
“This is consistent with an overall trend of declining enrollment and planned school consolidation that includes the closure of Treasure Mountain Jr. High at the end of the 2024-2025 school year,” the district said in a statement.
Tanner was notified his position would be eliminated effective March 31. Tanner’s COO and special assignment duties for safety and security have been reassigned to other district administrators. The district said Tanner will be available as needed through June 30, 2025, to assist in the transition.
This change comes on the heels of an external investigation the district requested after receiving questions and concerns about Tanner’s salary and district duties.
Huntsman said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” March 20 the investigation had ended but would not speak to specifics of the investigation or the findings.
According to the job description, the COO is the second-in-command of all district functions after the superintendent. The position was responsible for forming and communicating safety policies and procedures, managing all district construction projects and heading the transportation department. Documents KPCW obtained from the district state Tanner’s starting COO salary was $129,189 in 2019.
Along with Tanner’s COO responsibilities, he received a “special assignment/extra-duty contract.” In 2019, the additional $55,181 contract was for safety responsibilities, which is seemingly already part of the COO job description.
Tanner earned a total of $185,000 in wages and benefits that year.
However, this doesn’t align with the state auditor's Transparent Utah numbers. The website shows in 2019 Tanner earned $45,568 in wages and benefits.
Both contracts were renewed yearly with increases. By fiscal year 2024, the special assignment contract had increased by over $21,000, totaling more than $73,000 for that year. According to Transparent Utah, Tanner’s total wages and benefits increased by almost $60,000 from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2024, totaling almost $360,000 last year.
Concerns were also raised about the second-highest person in the district working remotely while overseeing safety procedures and construction projects.
In the statement, the district thanked Tanner for his six years of service including COVID-19 challenges, district construction projects and security initiatives.
Full statement from the Park City School District:
"As some may know, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) position filled by Mr. Mike Tanner was first created in 2019 and had not previously existed in the District. One of the first tasks undertaken by Superintendent Huntsman as she has stepped into her role has been to take a hard look at the administrative structure of the District. Based on her long tenure in the District, her knowledge of the District’s prior administrative structures, and desire to reduce administrative overhead costs, it has been determined that it is in the best interest of the District to effectuate a reduction-in-force that will result in the elimination of the COO position. This is consistent with an overall trend of declining enrollment and planned school consolidation that includes the closure of Treasure Mountain Jr. High at the end of the 2024 - 2025 school year. Mr. Tanner was notified that his position would be eliminated due to a reduction-in-force, effective March 31, 2025. As part of the restructuring, Mr. Tanner’s COO and special assignment duties have been reassigned to other District administrators and Mr. Tanner will be available as needed through June 30, 2025 to assist in the transition. The District appreciates Mr. Tanner’s service over these last six (6) years, which included a large number of challenges such as helping keep schools open during COVID and many District construction and security initiatives. We thank Mr. Tanner for his service to the District and wish him the best in his future endeavors."
