Washington ? Midwestern senators hope to prevent major changes to Head Start amid controversy over excessive pay for directors of local agencies running the preschool program.

But some House leaders insist the flap is reason to experiment with overhauling Head Start by allowing some states to manage the program.

The Senate education committee will be mindful of the salary controversy today, when members are scheduled to consider a Head Start bill renewing the Civil Rights-era program that each year helps about a million needy children.

At issue, at least in part, is at least $814,142 in wages paid over three years to Dwayne Crompton, executive director of the KCMC Child Development Corp., which runs 11 Head Start centers in the Kansas City, Mo., area.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing Crompton’s salary and benefits, including a $600-a-month Mercedes sport utility vehicle lease. HHS is investigating salaries and administrative costs for all the Head Start agencies.

The Senate bill would impose a ceiling on salaries for Head Start employees along with other rules.

“We have an accountability section which hopefully can stave off some of the criticism if we do this,” said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., who proposed the pay cap. “I’m optimistic that this kind of pre-emptive legislation, or proactive legislation, can be of help to us in protecting Head Start.”

Roberts and Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri are in the unusual position of being at odds with the Bush administration and House Republicans on the Head Start bill.

The Republican senators generally like the way Head Start operates, and they oppose the state-run experiment sought by the White House and House GOP. As Senate education committee members, Bond and Roberts will be reviewing the Head Start bill today.

“I think the program is working well as it is,” Bond said in an interview. “Given the state of state governments’ finances, I can’t be sure that adding a new state bureaucracy would improve it in any way, and it might divert some resources.”

The chairman of the House education committee, Ohio GOP Rep. John Boehner, said it would help prevent future abuses to turn the program over to highly qualified states.

“Congress has an obligation to send the president a final bill that will allow states and communities to prevent financial abuses in the Head Start program that cheat teachers and disadvantaged children,” Boehner said.

Windy Hill, associate commissioner of the Head Start Bureau at HHS, said the process of reauthorizing Head Start was an opportunity to focus on the best strategies — and sometimes new approaches — to helping children and families.

“We can’t lose sight of why we’re doing what we’re doing: We are providing funding to local Head Start agencies to ensure the readiness of children who may not have this opportunity through any other venue.”