New Lee’s Summit superintendent to earn $235,000 — half what predecessor was paid to leave

Lee’s Summit will pay new superintendent Dennis Carpenter $235,000 a year, about half what the district paid its former superintendent to leave last year.

The district’s school board approved Carpenter’s three-year contract a week ago — two days after it publicly announced the hiring and before questions about his tenure in Hickman Mills erupted on social media among Lee’s Summit district staff.

Those questions began after a television report mentioning age discrimination lawsuits that had been filed against the Hickman Mills district. Those suits did not name Carpenter as a defendant, and Lee’s Summit school board officials have said they support their decision to hire Carpenter.

Carpenter is set to address questions about those suits during a public session Wednesday evening, Jan. 18, at Lee’s Summit West High School, the performing arts center, 2600 S.W. Ward Road.

At Hickman Mills, Carpenter earns a base salary of $185,366 plus a $9,806 annuity. His base salary jumps nearly $50,000 with his move to Lee’s Summit.

He will finish the school year in Hickman Mills and officially take the reins in Lee’s Summit July 1.

Carpenter will replace David McGehee, who resigned in May after he and the board agreed to a one-year buyout of $450,000.

MeGehee left under a cloud of controversy over a dispute with board members who said a romantic relationship between McGehee and a lead attorney for the district presented a conflict of interest.

At Lee’s Summit McGehee had been the highest-paid superintendent in Missouri with a compensation package that totaled $397,000 in 2015-2016.

Carpenter’s contract calls for him to receive $125 a month for business use of his mobile phone and a $750 car allowance. He also gets all the normal benefits available to district employees and a salary increase each year through the 2019-2020 academic year that is of the same percentage that the base salary for teachers is bumped.

The district will also make an initial $21,500 contribution to his retirement account. That amount will increase each year of the contract equivalent to the salary boost.

The Lee’s Summit board of education will hold its first scheduled board meeting since hiring Carpenter as superintendent at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 3:42 PM with the headline "New Lee’s Summit superintendent to earn $235,000 — half what predecessor was paid to leave."