最新杏吧原创

ST. CHARLES COUNTY 鈥� The state auditor on Thursday said his office will review the nearly $230,000 Francis Howell School District paid its former superintendent, who resigned before ever working a day in the district.

Trevor Fox, spokesman for Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, confirmed the office will look into the payment as it completes a follow-up on an audit of Francis Howell, which earned the district the lowest possible rating of 鈥減oor鈥� by the state agency last December.

A separation agreement with former Superintendent Mike Dominguez surprised parents and staff after the Francis Howell Board of Education voted unanimously to approve Dominguez鈥檚 resignation and a $229,166.67 payout on July 31 with no explanation. The payout represents 11 months of Dominguez鈥檚 $250,000 salary.

The board hired Dominguez in March to replace outgoing Superintendent Kenneth Roumpos, who left for the Kirkwood School District in July. Dominguez鈥檚 July 1 start date was postponed 鈥渄ue to unforeseen circumstances,鈥� the district said in a June 27 statement. Dominguez and the school board reached a deal to separate on July 31.

Fitzpatrick, after the governor鈥檚 Ham Breakfast at the Missouri State Fair on Thursday, said his office typically returns to agencies that receive 鈥減oor鈥� ratings about a year later to see how they have addressed audit findings.

The auditor鈥檚 35-page on Francis Howell in December mostly revolved around a bungled bidding process and other failures that led to the new Francis Howell North high school costing almost twice what the district originally projected.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be interesting to find out what their decision-making process was that led them to hire somebody they then changed their mind about,鈥� Fitzpatrick told the Post-Dispatch. 鈥淚 assume it was a firing. If he voluntarily left, then I can鈥檛 understand why they鈥檙e paying him.鈥�

Dominguez鈥檚 separation agreement effectively gagged Francis Howell officials from explaining his departure. It stated that if asked about any employment dispute involving Dominguez, that district employees and board members agreed to respond 鈥溾�楧r. Dominguez resigned from the Francis Howell School District effective on July 31, 2025. I cannot comment further on a confidential personnel matter.鈥欌��

Fitzpatrick said his office also may examine the selection process that led to Dominguez鈥檚 hiring.

鈥淧resuming it was like a termination situation, how did they end up in a situation where they didn鈥檛 vet their decision well enough to know before they hired him what problems they were going to have after they hired him?鈥� Fitzpatrick said.

The district hired a Chicago-area consultant firm called School Exec Connect to lead the search for Roumpos鈥� replacement and completed a background check as part of the hiring process.

The firm has conducted several other searches in the 最新杏吧原创 area, including the search that resulted in Roumpos鈥� hire at Kirkwood, and the current superintendents of Ritenour, University City and Rockwood school districts.

Superintendent searches can take more than a year. Dominguez, however, was hired three months after Roumpos announced his departure. Previous school board members who voted to hire Dominguez said they wanted him to work alongside Roumpos before he left for his new job.

Dominguez was one of three candidates the Francis Howell school board interviewed, a spokesperson previously told the Post-Dispatch. The board selected him to become superintendent on a 6-1 vote, with board member Jane Puszkar the only dissenter.

The vote occurred shortly before the board鈥檚 makeup switched from a conservative to more moderate majority.

Three days after Francis Howell voted to pay Dominguez to leave, Dominguez landed a new job at Shawnee Public Schools in Oklahoma as assistant superintendent.

Local media there the Oklahoma Department of Education was investigating the hire on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the department did not respond to messages seeking confirmation on Thursday.

Shawnee Public Schools spokeswoman Amanda Johnson said the district had not been notified of any official investigation by the state鈥檚 Department of Education.

In a statement provided by Johnson, the district said it was 鈥減roud鈥� to welcome Dominguez, citing his 鈥減roven record of leadership.鈥�

鈥淗is addition to our leadership team reflects our continued commitment to strong, diverse leadership that serves all students,鈥� the statement read. 鈥淲e are confident in the contributions he will make and look forward to advancing the standard of excellence our community expects and deserves.