Kansas City, Mo. ? The executive director of the local Head Start agency, whose salary has been criticized as excessive by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has resigned citing health problems.

Dwayne Crompton’s resignation is effective April 1, said KCMC Child Development Corp. board president Kenneth A. Spaulding in a statement released Thursday.

In a letter to KCMC last month, the Health and Human Services Department said Crompton’s more than $800,000 in salary and bonuses over a three-year period was unreasonable. The department ordered KCMC to pay back $455,992 in salary and benefits.

Spaulding said Crompton’s resignation would not cause KCMC to withdraw its appeal of that order. The board had expected Crompton to retire at the end of the year.

“The board knew for some time that he was sick and that this … would be coming,” KCMC spokesman John Martellaro said.

In the news release, Crompton said the timing of his departure was encouraged by his physician.

“Although there has been great controversy over the compensation of this organization’s executive director, there has been no disagreement about the standards of excellence this organization has set and met for the children and families of this community,” Crompton said.

Crompton did not return a phone call seeking comment Thursday.

Spaulding said Crompton suffered from a chronic heart condition that worsened in October, requiring him to undergo surgery.

Spaulding said that in anticipation of Crompton’s resignation, the board had begun cultivating relationships that could lead to the early arrival of a replacement. Meanwhile, an interim administrative team has been chosen to work with the board to manage KCMC until Crompton’s replacement is found.

“KCMC does not expect Mr. Crompton’s resignation to have any adverse impact on its operations,” Spaulding said.

KCMC, which provides early childhood education to more than 2,700 low-income preschoolers in Jackson, Clay and Platte counties, receives most of its funding from HHS.

Windy Hill, associate commissioner of Head Start, said she had no comment on Crompton’s retirement, adding that the department’s decision to disallow part of his salary was related the management of KCMC and not to Crompton’s performance.

“Certainly, the disallowance is a result of the agency’s compliance with federal regulations and standards,” she said.

HHS demanded in October that KCMC justify Crompton’s compensation. In a response letter, KCMC said that Crompton’s compensation was reasonable, even low, when compared with the salaries of other nonprofit directors in the region.

KCMC said that Crompton’s pay was based on his “outstanding” performance, the growth of KCMC, his leadership after the agency’s former controller defrauded it, and KCMC’s “program excellence” as recognized by the government itself and professional peers.

A U.S. Senate proposal would cap the amount of federal funds spent on any Head Start employee’s wages. The effort is meant to prevent an employee from making more than HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, whose salary is $171,900.