School decides to keep unlicensed superintendent

CLIMAX SPRINGS, Mo. -- The school board in Climax Springs has decided to keep its superintendent, even though the state Board of Education revoked his teaching and administrative licenses after he was convicted of stealing money from a school where he was previously employed. Brian Kirk was found guilty in January 2003 of stealing from the Osage County School District in Linn, where he was superintendent from 1992-2001.

The Climax Springs School District hired him as superintendent in August 2001 and has continued to employee him despite knowledge of his criminal past.

The state Board of Education voted to revoke Kirk's licenses one week ago. But Climax Springs school board members said Thursday night they are pleased with the job Kirk is doing and do not think they will jeopardize their state accreditation by keeping him as their leader. Because he already holds the job, the board did not have to take any formal action to keep him.

Kirk said he was "embarrassed" about the situation but trusted the board to do the right thing.

The board's decision, however, may not be the end of the matter.

"We believe there is the potential for negative consequences in terms of their accreditation," Department of Elementary and Secondary Education spokesman Jim Morris said Friday. "Perhaps they don't understand that yet."

After being provisionally accredited, the Climax Springs district regained full accreditation in 2002, Morris said. The district is not scheduled to undergo another accreditation review until the 2007-2008 school year. But the state education board has the power to initiate a review before that, Morris said.

The state education department cannot force a district to remove a superintendent.

The Climax Springs school board said it believes the district's schools score high enough under state standards to offset whatever penalties it might face for keeping Kirk.

Kirk said he plans to appeal the loss of his licenses in court later this month.

He was convicted on two counts of felony stealing. He was accused of using the Linn schools' money to buy a hot tub, a chandelier, two televisions, shelving, two keyboards, two guitars, two road hazard kits, a leather chair and two garage door openers. The Franklin County Circuit Court later reduced one conviction to misdemeanor stealing and imposed suspended sentences and supervised probation for both.