The Olathe Board of Education has unanimously approved a three-year contract extension for Superintendent Brent Yeager.

Yeager’s new contract, approved by the board on June 4, begins July 1 and goes until June 30, 2029.

The Johnson County Post has requested a copy of Yeager’s new contract. According to an open records database of Kansas public employee compensation maintained by the right-leaning Kansas Policy Institute, Yeager’s total compensation for 2025 was $322,783.

Before the vote, board member Claire Reagan called Yeager the “absolute perfect leader,” saying he leads with joy, fortitude and integrity.

“I could not be more grateful for the way that you steer our ship through these stormy waters,” she said.

Yeager thanked the board after the 7-0 vote.

“Outside of being a dad and a husband, being the superintendent here is really the greatest honor of my life,” Yeager said. “It will be hard, but we’re going to work through this the next couple of years.”

Yeager has been at the center of several high-profile, at times controversial issues in recent months, including school consolidation and closings, advocacy efforts for increased state special education funding and a federal investigation into the district’s policies on transgender students.

Board President Stacey Yurkovich noted that Yeager did not take a salary increase for his new contract.

When the board hired Yeager in 2021, his contract included a $250,000 base salary with a performance bonus equaling up to 10% of his salary and an additional $25,000 in contributions to a tax-sheltered annuity.

He previously worked as the district’s assistant superintendent for learning services and the executive director of general administration and elementary programs. Before that, Yeager spent three years as the principal of Fairview Elementary School and four years as an elementary school teacher in the Blue Valley School District.

New board president and vice president

The school board also voted in new leadership for the upcoming school year. Current Vice President Julie Steele was elected board president. Board member Robert Kuhn was voted to serve as vice president.

Olathe residents first elected Steele, who represents District 3, which covers the northwestern area of the district, to the school board in 2021. She won reelection last November after her opponent largely stopped campaigning.

Kuhn was also elected to the board in 2021 and ran unopposed for his second term in November. Kuhn represents District 2, which covers the northeast area.