A complaint about Supt. Kathleen Williams' out-of-state license plates has been forwarded to the sheriff's office.
Kathleen Williams, superintendent of the Lawrence school district for 14 months, still hasn't registered her car in Kansas, thus escaping paying personal property taxes to the district that employs her.
The lapse has led to a citizen's complaint, which is being investigated by Douglas County officials. School board members said they weren't much concerned where Williams registers her cars, only that she does her job.
"She's worked here (for more than one year). Is she a resident or not?" a perturbed Mark Chaney wondered Tuesday.
The Lawrence insurance agent complained to Douglas County officials about the situation. Chaney said he doesn't think it's right that a superintendent whose $122,000 salary is paid by taxpayers doesn't pay vehicle taxes in Kansas. A portion of personal property taxes goes to local school districts.
Williams, who accepted the Lawrence superintendent's position in July 1998, is the former assistant superintendent at Schaumburg, Ill., and the car she drives has Illinois license plates.
Douglas County Treasurer Pat Wells said her office received Chaney's complaint Tuesday morning; state law requires Kansas residents to have in-state plates within 90 days of assuming residency.
Wells said her office frequently investigates such complaints. They are then forwarded to the Douglas County Sheriff's Department.
Sheriff's officials said they hadn't received the paperwork by Tuesday afternoon, but Undersheriff Kenny Massey said the office usually contacts the person the complaint is against and asks a standard set of questions. Those questions include the name of the vehicle owner, where the person resides and how long she has lived in Kansas.
Williams said she used her husband's Pontiac Bonneville to move to Lawrence in July 1998, and kept that car until January, when she returned to Lawrence from a trip home to Chicago. She drove her Mitsubishi 3000GT back, and had been driving it until a month ago. Williams said she didn't get Kansas tags on the Mitsubishi because the car was titled in her husband's name and she has been planning to sell it.
"It's titled in my husband's name. Why would I go through the trouble of switching (the registration) when I was planning to sell it anyway?" she asked.
Williams said she had been shopping for a new car. A month ago, she again switched cars with her husband so he could have work done on the Mitsubishi before it was sold. A week ago, a cab driver in Chicago slammed into the Mitsubishi, she said.
Williams rents an apartment in Lawrence and her husband, a lawyer, passed the Kansas bar earlier this year. She said he was looking for employment here.
Williams said it was frustrating that anyone would think she would intentionally circumvent any laws.
"If I'm doing something wrong, it needs to be brought to my attention," she said. "I certainly don't want to break the law. I don't want to cast a negative shadow on the school district because somebody thinks I'm intentionally breaking the law."
Several school board members said the issue isn't related to Williams' job.
"Has it had an impact on job performance? Not observably," said Mary Loveland. "She puts in longer days than a lot of folks."
Leni Salkind said the issue was a personal one.
"This is not an issue for the board. The issue for the board is whether the superintendent is doing the job she was hired to do, and she is," Salkind said. "As far as I'm concerned, Kathleen Williams lives here."
School board member Scott Morgan said the issue could be disposed of simply if Williams registered the car in the state.
"It's a kind of a silly thing, but it should just be taken care of," Morgan said. "I don't think it's earth-shattering, but to the average person, when you're paid $120,000 a year out of property taxes, you should register your car here."
Morgan said he frequently hears questions about the out-of-state plates.
"It's something that comes up frequently in conversations, whether it's at soccer games or other places," he said. "For some reason, people have noticed it and are interested."
-- Chris Koger's phone message number is 832-7126. His e-mail address is ckoger@ljworld.com.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.