According to salary figures from USD 475 Geary County, David Wild was paid over $631,071.87 for the 2023-24 school year. Mr. Wild’s income came from the school district as a “construction grants program manager” and as a part-time liaison with nearby Ft. Riley, but neither the school nor Ft. Riley nor Mr. Wild himself will comment on what his employment entailed.
Mr. Wild’s contract with the district in effect from July 1st, 2022 through June 30th, 2023 generally defines the expectations of his position:
The Program Manager’s duties and responsibilities shall include grant writing, reporting, and construction program management/oversight for Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC), Intergovernmental Support Agreement (IGSA), and/or other construction related grant programs. The Program Manager’s duties shall also include and conform to all duties prescribed by the laws or regulations of the State of Kansas, applicable federal regulations, and by the rules and regulations established by the District for Program Manager’s position.
The contract stipulates a base salary for David Wild of $65,000 with the following incentives:
Additionally, the District shall pay the Program Manager a fee equivalent to one percent of IGSA project costs offloaded to the District under IGSA programs which occur during the dates of this signed agreement. One half of the fee shall be paid in lump sum upon award of the project to the District (signified by transfer of funds into a District holding account). The balance one half of the fee shall be paid upon successful completion of the project and after reconciliation of final costs. Leave benefits will be allocated on a prorated basis based upon a twenty per hour work week.
SUPERVISOR: The Program Manager supervisor shall be the Superintendent or designee.
We reached out to USD 475 Superintendent Reginald Eggleston, the supervisor listed for David Wild, about his duties and compensation:
“Mr. Wild worked as the district program manager (part-time) and received a percentage of the funds he brought in as a liaison between the school district and Fort Riley.”
David Wild employment history
KansasOpenGov.org shows Wild was listed as Construction Program Manager for the 2022-23 school year and was paid $93,181 and he was paid $114,632 as Chief Operations Officer the previous year. It’s unlikely that Wild took a pay cut, and since his employment as Construction Program Manager with a 1% commission on payments began the year prior, it is possible that the commission payments he received the previous year were not properly reported in the district’s response to the payroll Open Records request for that school year.
Although not defining “liaison”, or terms of compensation for David Wild, Superintendent Eggleston did confirm the Geary County school board approved the Wild contract. Board President Kristy Haden did not respond to our request for comment.
In response to our question to Assistant Superintendent Tina Hausler, on a day Superintendent Eggleston was not available, if construction of additional USD 475 schools (one middle school and three elementary currently) was occurring on Ft. Riley, from which Mr. Wild was compensated, she responded:
“We are not currently in the process of opening more schools on Fort Riley.”
The IGSA with Fort Riley sets out the Fort’s responsibilities:
Provide USD 475, and its contractor agent, access to, and use of a laydown yard and Fort Riley facilities required in support of performance of projects through this IGSA.
Pay USD 475 the cost of D-B,(Design-Build) Purchasing Cooperatives, and Indefinite Quantity Building and Infrastructure CIRM Projects and an 8% General & Administration fee to cover USD 475 services and costs via the General Fund Enterprise Business System (GFBS) miscellaneous funds account.
So what did David Wild do to earn the commissions that brought his income last year to $631,000?
Fort Riley personnel listed on the IGSA as his “points of contact,” C. David Scruggs, Fred Moody, Lisa Jonas, and Cheryl H. Crofoot, did not respond to our request for information.
David Wild did respond but was reluctant to discuss his employment arrangement:
“I’ve cc’d Dr. Eggleston, USD 475 Superintendent, as it would not be appropriate for me to comment on a school district program relative to its Agreement with Fort Riley. I note that your comments and questions indicate confusion. My assumption is that the concerns referenced in your note is the source of misinformation.”
There is no misinformation, just unanswered questions on how taxpayer money was spent. If Wild retires within the next three years, his taxpayer-funded pension will be significantly increased as a result of last year’s income.
