Lee’s Summit school board offers McGehee contract extension

The highest paid school superintendent in Missouri has an offer for a new contract extension in hand.

In a letter addressed to patrons of the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District, board member Bill Baird said that in a closed session Thursday, the board approved a proposal that would extend Superintendent David McGehee’s current contract to the 2018-19 school year. The vote was 5-2.

Board president Terri Harmon confirmed the proposal Friday during a press conference.

McGehee has yet to sign the extension, Harmon said. Its terms will not be made public until he does, she said.

She added the board wanted to ensure they kept McGehee in the district with the offer, which was discussed and agreed to by all seven board members a year ago.

“We wanted to put together a compensation package attractive enough to keep him past the age of retirement,” Harmon said.

McGehee on Friday declined to comment on the proposal.

McGehee’s 2015-16 compensation package, including annuity and allowed expenses, totaled an estimated $397,000. The total includes items such as business expenses, travel and mileage.

His base salary was $276,286 with another $80,500 coming in deferred payment.

The compensation package is the highest in the state, according to a report from Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri.

The next highest-paid superintendent on the list is in Kirkwood, where Thomas Williams’ total package was $302,308.

The offer for a new contract comes after Baird publicly called for McGehee to step down. Baird expressed concern about McGehee’s personal relationship with Shellie Guin, a principal in Guin and Mundorf, a law firm contracted by the district.

In response to Baird’s demand that he resign, McGehee called for Baird to step down instead. McGehee later apologized and called for a better working relationship.

McGehee and Harmon both rebutted accusations from Baird that board policies were violated in the district’s dealings with the firm. Both cited parameters put in place after McGehee revealed the relationship to board members last summer.

Guin has not performed any work for the district since Feb. 18, Harmon said.

At Friday’s press conference, Harmon said an independent legal ethics attorney concluded that the procedures put in place to avoid a conflict of interest complied with Missouri Supreme Court Rules of Professional Conduct. Another outside law firm concluded that the district was not in violation of case law or state statute in the way that the school district selects legal counsel.

The district paid close to $13,000 for both external reviews, Harmon said.

Although McGehee said he negotiates his own contracts, Baird was not happy with the latest contract offer.

“There’s a conflict,” Baird said. “Board leadership is saying that’s OK and it’s not.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Lee’s Summit school board offers McGehee contract extension."