USD 217 board reallocates superintendent/principal salary after KSDE audit; calendar issues flagged

The USD 217 Board of Education voted March 10 to amend the superintendent/principal contract after an auditor review prompted a clarification of salary allocations.

President Jason LaRue moved to divide the 2024–25 contract compensation into three equal parts — 1/3 elementary principal, 1/3 junior high/high school principal, and 1/3 superintendent — a change the board said was requested by the KSDE auditor. The motion passed, recorded as "motion carried: 5 - 0." The change responds to an auditor request to show administrative and transportation salary portions as separate dollar amounts for fiscal reporting.

The move follows an auditor recommendation that the superintendent and principal salary lines be separated so KSDE reporting and contract documentation align with audit expectations. Superintendent/Principal Dettra Crawford also told the board the separation is needed to comply with KSDE audit instructions and to avoid future findings.

Board members also confirmed the district’s estimated maximum Local Option Budget (LOB) percentage for 2025–26 will remain at 33 percent. During discussion, Crawford noted a discrepancy in the school calendar hour reporting: an initial 1,116‑hour calendar had been generated after data-entry errors rather than the intended 1,086‑hour schedule, and the board discussed verifying and correcting those entries.

The board recorded no additional fiscal actions tied directly to the contract change at the meeting. Next procedural steps noted in the meeting record include updating contract documents to reflect the separated amounts and resubmitting corrected calendar/attendance hour data for KSDE review.

The meeting continued with routine business after the motion.