Some say superintendent contracts are too binding | Education | Cass County Democrat Missourian
Some say superintendent contracts are too binding | Education | Cass County Democrat Missourian
Superintendents in Missouri aren’t breaking the law, but their practice of renegotiating three-year contracts on an annual basis hamstrings districts, according to multiple school board members in the area.
“It adheres to the letter of the law, but not the spirit of the law,” said Ryan Wescoat, a Board of Education member in the Raymore-Peculiar School District.
At the Pleasant Hill School District, at Ray-Pec, Lee’s Summit and around the state, superintendents sign three-year contracts, but they engage in renegotiation talks after just the first year, meaning many superintendents always have at least two years remaining on their contracts.
“I don’t understand the point of offering a three-year contract if it’s renegotiated every year,” Wescoat said.
He cited the resignation of Lee’s Summit’s former superintendent David McGehee, amid discord.
According to a Lee’s Summit School District release, former superintendent David McGehee’s contract called for him being paid more than $1.1 million over the course of three years, but the school board negotiated a severance agreement worth $450,000. McGehee will receive that sum, in two payments, before the next school year begins.
“Just like the Lee’s Summit (former superintendent McGehee) ... they had to buy him out,” Adamczyk said.
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