Outgoing Kansas City school board’s last vote: Raising superintendent pay $40,000
Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell is getting a $40,000 raise on his original salary, a car and hefty financial protections against termination in a contract agreement announced Thursday.
The new three-year contract, which begins July 1, was approved Wednesday by the nine-member school board in its last action before the newly elected board was sworn in.
Bedell was hired as superintendent in 2016, with an annual salary of $225,000 plus benefits. Under the new contract he will receive $265,000, an 18% increase over his original salary.
“During my three years as Superintendent of Kansas City Public Schools, I’ve consistently expressed my desire to stay in this community,” Bedell said in a statement released Thursday. “Last night, the school board approved a new contract that will allow me to stay with KCPS and continue on this journey to move our school district to full accreditation. I am extremely excited about this opportunity.”
Under the new contract, if the school board were to fire Bedell without cause, the district would have to pay him a lump sum equal to whatever is remaining in his contract. Right now that would be nearly $800,000, plus the value of benefits and any vacation accrued.
If he quit for no good reason, he would have to pay one month’s salary to the district.
Bedell is the district’s 27th superintendent in 45 years. His last contract was renegotiated in 2017 and was set to run through June 2020. The new contract extends that through June 2022.
Since Bedell started, the district has expanded its full-day pre-kindergarten program and launched a mentoring program for district students. And for the first time in 30 years, the provisionally accredited district saw its state Annual Performance Report score reach into the full accreditation range. This year the district saw its highest APR score ever.
“The Kansas City Public Schools has experienced significant academic growth and attracted new interest and support from the Kansas City community since Dr. Bedell joined the school district,” said Melissa Robinson, who was president of the board that concluded its term Wednesday.
Bedell met performance goals set by the board that focused on academic improvement, equity in the allocation of education resources, social and emotional support for students and college and career readiness, the district’s statement said.
And, Robinson said, “Bedell has demonstrated his ability to recruit and retain top leadership and teacher talent, ensure stable finances, and draw new supporters and volunteers to help our school district thrive.”
Members of the new school board, who were elected on April 2, have said they wanted the old board to decide on Bedell’s contract instead of taking up the matter themselves.
This story was originally published April 11, 2019 at 5:49 PM.
