USD 229 Blue Valley has been reducing hours for hourly workers, such as paraprofessionals, and cutting benefits in what district officials claim is a plan to curb a $10 million budget shortfall — but we now know the district gave some executives generous raises last school year.
More than 20 Blue Valley executives got pay increases of more than 6 percent. Most hovered around 6.5 percent, but a few saw much larger increases. Chief among those was Chief Communication Officer Kaci Brutto, whose pay jumped a whopping 37.2 percent between 2025 and 2026, from $142,506 to $195,560.
The chart below includes examples of large salary increases from a few other districts, such as Shawnee Mission, Garden City Maize and Goddard. The Sentinel’s parent company, Kansas Policy Institute, compiled payrolls of many school districts through Open Records requests and posted them on KansasOpenGov.org.
Kansas Policy Institute CEO Dave Trabert noted in an editorial earlier this year that Blue Valley’s shortfall could be offset by “right-sizing management.” The Sentinel is owned by KPI.
“Blue Valley increased management employment by 54% over the last 21 years, with only a 17% enrollment increase,” Trabert wrote. “Blue Valley could cover its budget shortfall by operating at the same students-to-manager ratio as neighboring Shawnee Mission. That would eliminate 72 managers and save $10.8 million, assuming an average pay and benefits cost of $150,000 per manager.”
Earlier this year, Blue Valley announced work hours had been reduced and paid holidays eliminated for those in-classroom aides, classified as paraprofessionals, and who work fewer than 30 hours per week, making around $20 per hour.
A district spokesperson told KSHB 41:
“We recognize this is a significant change for employees and their families. This was not a decision made lightly. We are sharing this information now so staff have time to understand the change and consider their options for 2027.”
The Affordable Care Act requires employers to provide health coverage to employees working over 30 hours per week.
