The South Summit School District Board of Education has not evaluated its superintendent’s performance since 2024. When it has, the reviews “did not provide useful feedback.”
That’s according to a Utah audit released Sept. 15.
In the report, auditors said the absence of consistent feedback and accountability may have contributed to the district’s lack of improvement on the state’s Readiness Improvement Success Empowerment, or RISE, test for grades 3-8.
During a meeting Oct.12, Deputy Auditor General Darin Underwood said South Summit’s superintendent is “doing a great job.” Still, annual superintendent evaluations are one of the board’s main responsibilities.
“The National School Board Association has said … an accurate, fair, and objective evaluation of a school district superintendent may be one of the most significant levers a school board has for driving district improvement,” he said.
Matt Weller has been a board member for four years and president for two. He said the board didn’t evaluate Superintendent Greg Maughan for two years because “there was no good evaluation system.”
“I needed the basis to start one, and so that's the real reason we haven't done one,” he said. “I needed help on it, and there's just nothing in Utah that's any good.”
The board previously used the Utah School Boards Association’s template to evaluate Maughan, who has been superintendent since 2021. Underwood said the board could still use the template as long as it's catered to South Summit.
State auditors also point to a model used in Massachusetts schools as a good example. They use a five-step annual cycle. Steps include regular assessments, an annual evaluation, a superintendent self-evaluation, goal setting and plan implementation.
One employee, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution, said the audit recommendation validates a feeling staff has felt for years: the board isn’t doing its due diligence.
“The teachers are feeling that, you know, they're not being heard at all by the board. So I would love the board to ask the teachers specifically for their input.”
The employee said the board and other district leaders advertise open, honest communication, but in practice it’s different. They said the Performance Matters platform implemented in 2025 is a good example. Teachers shared an anonymous letter listing concerns about the program. The employee said those concerns were “dismissed very quickly.”
Maughan and Weller characterized problems with Performance Matters as growing pains, both saying change can be uncomfortable. Weller said change can also cause anxiety.
“I wished it was easier, but some people adopt change really well, and some people hate it, and will fight it,” Weller said. “If we want to improve the schools and student outcomes, it's going to require some change.”
The anonymous employee, however, said that’s not the case.
“Teachers are not afraid of change. They are constantly changing … using new curriculum, new resources,” they said. “Teachers know when something is working, and if it's working, they are all for giving it a shot. But when time and time again the program continues to fail, they're going to abandon it.”
Aaron Tillet, a teacher of 31 years who retired from South Summit High School this spring, agreed for the most part.
“Change is hard for everybody, and so that factored in. But the main thing is the program itself is very clunky and not user-friendly at all,” he said.
Tillet and the employee said they would like to see the board get more involved. They previously would visit schools and talk to teachers, but both said that’s changed since Maughan became superintendent.
The employee said it seems the board doesn’t understand what their responsibilities are.
“What many of us see when we're watching board meetings is things just move right through,” they said. “There's no deep discussions on many issues.”
During the Sept. 14 board meeting, the district’s attorney said the board is responsible for governance and should lead by establishing policy, allocating resources and holding the system accountable. The superintendent, on the other hand, is in charge of implementing board direction.
Weller said the board is already working on making improvements to its practices.
“The first order of the agenda is the strategic plan because without that, you can't provide teacher evaluations. You can't do superintendent evaluations,” he said.
Auditors recommend the board formally adopt a superintendent evaluation
system that includes clear success measures tied to the board’s strategic plan. The board plans to adopt a new strategic plan in June 2027 and will work on other audit objectives in the meantime.
The district also asked state auditors to continue monitoring the district’s progress over the next few years.
