Staff fleeing animal shelter after new president hired

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Managers are fleeing a large Kansas City area animal shelter after the board of directors hired a $75,000-a-year president who has no experience working with animals.

Since Ronnie Beach was hired as the first presidnet of Wayside Waifs, five of the shelter's managers have resigned -- four citing administrative changes -- one has been fired and another reassigned.

Other employees and volunteers have expressed concern about Beach's inexperience and salary.

"This business of animal care is very specialized, and you can't have people in charge who don't know what they're doing," said Stephanie Laster, the shelter's former controller, who was fired in November. "With wholesale change like this you lose all the institutional knowledge, and that's the worst thing."

Before Beach's hiring in September, the shelter was run for 4 1/2 years by the directors of shelter operations and development. The shelter eliminated the $50,000-a-year executive director position in 1997 after the man in the position pleaded no contest to animal neglect charges.

Beach, a former mayor of Pittsburg, Kan., was hired after a consultant recommended the shelter take on a more businesslike approach, said board chairman Harold Melcher.

"Ronnie was the most qualified," Melcher said. "He likes animals, but he doesn't claim to be an expert in operating a shelter, and we knew that."