Wayne Kruse, the former president of the Lawrence teachers’ union accused of stealing thousands of dollars in dues, has offered to not challenge his firing by the school district in exchange for being paid through June.

Supt. Randy Weseman said he received Kruse’s offer Monday.

“I’ll forward it to the board,” Weseman said. “If we don’t have to go through all the legal expenses that come with due process, it’ll probably save us a bunch of money.”

The board’s next scheduled meeting is April 11.

“I may ask for a special meeting before then so we can get this over with,” Weseman said.

Earlier this month, the board fired Kruse shortly after he’d been charged with two counts of forgery and one count of theft of more than $25,000.

The district’s personnel policies give Kruse the option of appealing the board’s decision during a meeting presided over by a district-appointed hearing officer. That meeting, scheduled for today, has been canceled.

Kruse, a sixth-grade teacher at Quail Run School since 1994, was suspended with pay in early January shortly after the teachers’ union notified its members of the missing money.

If Kruse had been fired, he would have been dropped from the district’s payroll.

6News video: Kruse offers resignation School district moves closer to firing Kruse (03-15-05) 6News video: School board terminates contract of teacher charged with embezzlement (03-14-05) Ex-union leader in court on theft charges (03-12-05) Charges filed against former LEA president (03-09-05) 6News video: Charges filed in missing dues case (03-08-05) Police file report on missing LEA dues (02-09-05)

Kruse and his attorney, Mark Bennett of Topeka, were in Douglas County District Court on Monday for a scheduling appearance. Afterward, both declined comment.

“It would be inappropriate to say anything before the preliminary hearing,” Bennett said.

Kruse’s preliminary hearing was set for 2 p.m. May 9 before Judge Jack Murphy.

If convicted, Kruse could be sentenced to more than two and a half years in jail.

Union officials have said Kruse is suspected of pocketing more than $97,000 in dues deducted from members’ paychecks.