Their names sound the same but are spelling differently. New R-2 Superintendent Mark Leach will be assisted during the 2008-09 school year by Mark Leech, retired superintendent at Hermann.

Mark Leach at recent school board meeting.

District administrative personnel are already differentiating between the two by calling one “Owen” Leach and the other “Herman” Leech.

Leech, a Montgomery County resident, was hired Monday on a 6-0 Board of Education vote to serve as a consultant for the R-2 School District. He retired two years ago from the Gasconade County R-1 School District in Hermann after a 34-year career in education. Leech’s employment was discussed in a closed session Monday following the board’s regularly scheduled monthly business meeting. Leech met with the board for approximately 20 minutes of the 50-minute executive session, according to the board’s secretary, Peggy Linhardt.

When they returned to open session, the board approved a motion by Tim Ley and a second by David Lottmann to pay Leech $54 per hour. He will be reimbursed for his mileage while on school business but not to and from his residence. Under Missouri Public School Retirement regulations, retirees are limited to 550 hours of work per year or about 68 days, said Leach.

“He was employed as a consultant and will be on site a day or two a week working with me,” said Superintendent Mark Leach. “He’s going to be the guy who will be on site.”

Leech will assist Leach and the board with budget and financial issues, said Chris Lenauer, the board’s president.

The board met in a special closed session on Aug. 12 and employed a retired superintendent from Hallsville to help Leach as a consultant for special projects. Tom Baugh was hired at an hourly rate of $50 plus mileage.

“As I understand, I’m going to be the superintendent for the year,” said Leach on Friday. “Tom Baugh is strictly a consultant for special projects.”

Leach said the Missouri School Board Association has been contracted to assist the district in its search for a new superintendent. That search process could begin as early as October, said Leach.

Leach said he is obtaining a temporary certification to serve as superintendent. His paperwork for the certification is being prepared and he will undergo another background check prior to approval from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

“I’m looking forward to working with Mark,” said Leech who served 11 years as superintendent in Hermann. “I’ve always had a lot of respect and admiration for Mark. It’s a tough time for the district. I hope I can lend a helping hand.”

Leech spent 10 years as assistant superintendent at Montgomery County and also served as an assistant principal (middle school) and principal (high school) in Fayette, Mo. His resume also includes 29 years in the military including three on active duty in the U.S. Army and 26 in the Missouri National Guard. He said he initially plans to be in the district two days a week but expects to spend at least three days a week here to start.

On Monday the board also employed support personnel including Wanda Jahnsen (paraprofessional), Christina King and Tinya McClure (dishwashers), and John Strubberg (custodian).

Legal fees approved Monday for the period July 1-31 included another $5,587 to the district’s counsel of Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan and Jackstadt. Billable hours were listed as 26.30 and covered personnel issues, the Public School Retirement system, the district’s drug testing policy, board procedures, a meeting between the entire board with one attorney on July 28,  and preparation of the separation agreement for Dr. Sally Knight, the district’s former superintendent. Fees covered on the Aug. 15 invoice averaged $212.43 per hour.

The board on Monday also approved a $5,554.21 payment from a July 15 invoice and a $5,587 payment from an Aug. 15 invoice. When reviewing the district’s billing statement, The Republican noted the district had apparently paid the $5,554.21 figure from the July 15 invoice twice this month for a total payment of $16,695.42. District officials said they would seek a reimbursement for the overpayment since the $5,554.21 bill from July 15 had already been paid last month.

The district’s actual expenditures on legal fees for the July and August billing periods was $11,141.21. Based on the $670 cost of the newly acquired laptops at the middle school, money spent on legal fees this summer could have been used to purchased 16.6 new computers for students.