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Board approves cutting one high‑school assistant principal position to reduce administration costs
Summary
Excelsior Springs board voted 5-0 to leave open an assistant principal position at the high school, a change staff said will reduce next year’s administrative payroll by about $150,000 while increasing workloads at the high school.
The Excelsior Springs 40 School District board on March 20 approved a staff recommendation to not refill a high‑school assistant principal position, a move administrators said will lower next year’s administrative payroll by about $150,000.
The district’s presentation said central office administrator salaries are budgeted about $30,000–$40,000 lower next year and that by leaving the assistant principal spot vacant the district will reduce total administrative expenditures by roughly $150,000 compared with the current year.
Dr. Tomlinson, who presented the item, said the district had reviewed workloads and concluded existing staff could absorb the work. “We’ve done it before,” he said, acknowledging the change will increase responsibilities for remaining high‑school administrators and put more on teachers for certain tasks.
Board members raised concerns about student impacts, evaluations and supervision duties. A staff member explained that administrators “take things off of other people’s plates,” such as working with teachers on students with behavioral needs and completing evaluations; reducing admin headcount will shift some of that work onto other administrators and staff.
The board moved and seconded approval of the administrative staff reduction; the motion passed 5‑0.
Superintendent Dr. Thomas and presenters said the decision is driven by ongoing budget uncertainty at the state and federal level and by the district’s aim to keep core instructional spending intact. The board instructed staff to monitor impacts and report back if workload or student services are materially affected.
