Kansas City school board reaches tentative agreement on superintendent contract

More than two months after naming Mark Bedell as the choice to lead Kansas City Public Schools, the school board came away from its Wednesday night meeting with a tentative contract agreement.

Board members wrapped up the hiring agreement in a closed session before its regularly scheduled board meeting. Board chairman Jon Hile made the announcement to rousing applause in the board chambers at the administrative building at 1211 McGee St.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Bedell to team KCPS,” Hile said.

While details of the agreement won’t be made public until the contract is final, the district is a step closer to sealing the deal for a new superintendent. The district is expecting a visit from Bedell next week to sign the final contract.

In January the board chose Bedell, a 41-year-old assistant superintendent for high schools at Baltimore County Public Schools, from among two final candidates for the job. Bedell and the board have been in contract negotiations ever since.

Bedell was a favorite among Kansas City audiences. His story about growing up in a drug-addicted home with a single parent and being the only one of eight siblings to graduate from high school had people standing and applauding when he spoke at Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts.

Recently in a telephone conversation with The Star, Bedell said he was eager to finalize a contract with the struggling Kansas City district. Kansas City would be his first superintendent position. The native of Rochester, N.Y., worked for 12 years in the Houston Independent School District as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and school improvement officer.

The Kansas City district, which is currently provisionally accredited, has been striving to regain full accreditation since 2014.

Bedell, known in Baltimore County for a successful mentoring program that has been credited with improving retention and graduation rates there, plans to bring that program to Kansas City schools. He said during his visit that “full accreditation is non-negotiable” and that he intends to push Kansas City Public Schools to the next level.

He said he identifies with many Kansas City students and is committed to staying here and enrolling his eighth-grader, ninth-grader and kindergartner in the district. His wife, Robyn, an attorney, has already started looking in Kansas City for a place to live.

Bedell has said he plans to stay in Kansas City and raise his children in the district’s public schools.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 7:51 PM with the headline "Kansas City school board reaches tentative agreement on superintendent contract."