The board of the West Metro Education Program has placed its superintendent on administrative leave while a complaint against him is investigated.

Superintendent Daniel Jett, 68, will be paid at his annual rate of more than $163,000 while the complaint is investigated, according to Ann Goering, an attorney advising the board of the 11-district integration school district.

Jett did not respond to e-mails and phone calls Thursday seeking comment. On Wednesday night, the board voted to hire three firms to assist it during the investigation of the complaint.

Goering said that Antoinette Johns, a former Brooklyn Park superintendent, will start Monday in Jett's role for the district until the School Exec Connect firm finds a longer-term substitute. "This may be a little longer than a few days," Goering said.

The board also hired a firm to investigate the complaint against Jett and a law firm to advise the board on issues related to that investigation. Jett worked for six years as superintendent of the Minnetonka district and has headed the integration district since 2003. He was granted only a one-year extension of his contract when the board last acted on that.

The two-school district was launched to help promote integration of student populations between Minneapolis and 10 suburban districts. It also provides training to teachers and students in intercultural issues and has run a program that allows low-income Minneapolis students to attend suburban schools.

The investigation involving the Jett complaint follows one in which a complaint against Kevin J. Bennett, principal of the two schools, was investigated. Goering said interviews have been completed in that investigation.

STEVE BRANDT