Lee’s Summit School District must regain the community’s trust
Getting back to a quiet, noncontroversial normal may take the entire summer in the Lee’s Summit School District.
A monthslong conflict between Superintendent David McGehee and school board member Bill Baird has ended with McGehee being placed on paid administrative leave while new leadership negotiations occur. Terri Harmon stepped down as school board president but will remain on the board.
The shakeup partly centers on McGehee dating Shellie Guin, an attorney with the Guin Mundorf law firm, which until recently had handled much of the school district’s legal business. In the dust-up, Guin Mundorf announced that it is ending future business with the district.
Baird and the new Citizens for a Better LSR7 correctly noted that the relationship between McGehee and Guin crossed the line in giving the appearance of a conflict of interest, though Guin and McGehee said steps had been taken to keep that from happening.
Baird said that McGehee and the board leadership had improperly handled some contracts, including one involving Guin Mundorf.
A 2014 Missouri auditor’s report accused the district — the 10th largest in the state with 18,000 students — of not competitively bidding legal services, instead turning to Guin’s law firm and others without a written agreement.
Documents obtained by The Star show the suburban school district paid Guin Mundorf more than $114,000 in 2013, more than $143,000 in 2014 and more than $168,000 in 2015.
McGehee also raised eyebrows because of the salary the district was paying him. He is the highest paid superintendent in the state.
A new contract that McGehee signed called for him to make a base salary of $304,300 for the 2016-2017 school year with an additional $60,857 in deferred compensation for forgoing other employment opportunities.
Brent Blevins, deputy superintendent of operations in the district, will serve as interim superintendent, and school board member Bob White was picked as the new board president.
People with Citizens for a Better LSR7 are right to demand responsible and accountable leadership for the district.
Monday was the last day of school. Classes for the 2016-2017 school year start Aug. 17.
That gives the school board and administration about three months to clean up the district’s problems and regain the community’s trust.
This story was originally published May 23, 2016 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Lee’s Summit School District must regain the community’s trust."