The deal with the new Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) superintendent has been signed and Mark Bedell will take the top job on July 1.
The three year contract is not lavish by big school district standards. Bedell will make a base salary of $225,000 and be eligible for a $31,000 retention bonus if he stays all three years. Bedell's contract also calls for a district provided car, cell phone and laptop plus supplemental retirement payments. However, no dollar figure was attached to those extras.
The district will also pay moving expenses and give Bedell $10,000 for travel from Baltimore County and temporary housing in Kansas City. Should Bedell or his family be threatened, the district will provide security for him.
One of the first things Bedell will have to do is begin to implement a new, wide ranging master plan approved by the school board in late February. Bedell's contract also requires him to set up additional goals for the district within 90 days.
The man Bedell replaces, Stephen Green, made $250,000 a year and had performance bonuses that could have earned him an extra $100,000. Green left last year to become superintendent in the DeKalb County schools in Georgia.
The highest paid superintendent in the Metro is David McGehee from Lee's Summit whose base salary is $276,287 a year. Recently name Blue Valley Superintendent Todd White has a base pay of $230,000 but can make an extra $25,000 in performance bonuses. Shawnee Mission Superintendent Jim Hinson makes $232,280 with an additional $25,000 put into a tax sheltered annuity.
Sam Zeff covers education for KCUR. He's also co-host of KCUR's political podcast Statehouse Blend. Follow him on Twitter @samzeff.
