Another Closed Door Session

Day 3 of the 8-day countdown to our next public school board meeting on April 14th at 7:00 pm. Each day I am simply posting facts. Today’s Fact: The Board of Education approved a new contract for Dr. McGehee last night in closed session in a 5-2 vote. I may not discuss the terms of the contract until they are available to the public (72 hours after the execution of the contract).
Board President Terri Harmon called for a closed session on short notice to approve this contract despite the circumstances of recent events. Twice before in the last month, Ms. Harmon and Dr. McGehee have tried to get the board to approve an illegal contract that not only violated board policy but also took great advantage of the Public Schools Retirement System. The board has now condoned the behavior by altering the numbers to make it legal and granting him 3 more years. Dr. McGehee’s previous compensation package was close to $100,000 higher than the next highest paid superintendent in Missouri and Kansas. I wish our teachers and staff could rate this kind of compensation compared to their market, but our teacher mid salaries are ranked 39th for bachelors, 49th for masters, and 22nd for non-doctorate. See the attached chart.
I am listening to the taxpayers and school district employees and cannot speak for the other board members. I can say that if you want a voice on matters like these in life it won’t necessarily be heard by the decisions makers on one person’s Facebook page alone. “The power of the people is greater than the people in power.” Wael Ghonim
The Board President Terri Harmon is holding a press conference at 11:30 am today to answer questions from the media.

-Bill Baird

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Missouri Schools - The Washington Post

Missouri Schools - The Washington Post Some schools brag about their high passing rates on AP or IB, meaning the percentage of test-takers who scored 3, 4 or 5 on the 5-point AP exam or 4, 5, 6 or 7 on the 7-point IB exam. Passing scores make students eligible for credit at many colleges and universities. I decided not to count passing rates in this way because I found that many high schools kept those rates artificially high by allowing only top students to take the courses. AP, IB and AICE are important because they give average students a chance to experience the trauma of heavy college reading lists and long, analytical college examinations. Research has found that even low-performing students who got a 2 on an AP test did significantly better in college than similar students who did not take AP. On the list, we also give readers a sense of how well each school’s students are doing on the tests by posting the Equity and Excellence rate, which is the percentage of all graduating s
Read more

My Letter Requesting To Become A Board Member

Sherri R. Tucker 1200 SE London Way Lee’s Summit, MO   64081 816-554-3017 autism@kc.rr.com Lee’s Summit R-7 School District C/o Linda Ismert, Board Secretary Stansberry Leadership Center 301 NE Tudor Road Lee’s Summit, MO   64086 Ms Ismert I would like to submit my name for the position on the Lee’s Summit R-7 School Board.   As you know, I have expressed an interest in being on the school board in the past.   On my first attempt I only lost by 2% which would indicate that the voters have an interest in me being on the board as well.   I would think that the voters’ wishes would be taken into consideration. I have a strong relationship with many of the districts’ families and I can help to bridge the gap between them and the district.   I understand the commitment to the time and energy required each week for meetings, phone calls, conversations, visits to schools, and professional development seminars and workshops.   I already do that with the families that I work with and can c
Read more

School Board Candidates

I am attempting to find information on the school board candidates.  It has been much easier in the past.  This year it has been more difficult.  Susan D. Coffman Susan Coffman has served as the Outreach Program Coordinator and Finance Officer for Lee’s Summit CARES since 2008. She has been a mayor-appointed representative to the Human Services Advisory Board, facilitated alcohol retailer trainings, organized the annual Holly Festival with the DARE program, managed bookkeeping and accounting, and served as the community liaison between LS CARES and local business, universities and the cities.  Coffman’s financial background includes work as a customer support specialist at Jack Henry & Associates Inc. for 11 years and assistant vice president and customer support specialist at Merchants Bank for 17 years.  Her community activities include serving on the Human Services Advisory Board, Paradise Park Advisory Board, Lee’s Summit Social Services Board, former treasurer of Rotary C
Read more