KSHB 41 reporter Fe Silva covers education stories involving K-12. Share your story idea with Fe.
Kansas City, Missouri, voters will decide on April 8th whether to approve a $474 million GO Bond proposal to improve schools.
Most of the money would go to Kansas City Public Schools, but about 10% will be allocated to nine different charter schools in the area, including Kansas City Girls Prep Academy.
Daphne Armstrong is in her last year at the school. She knows the building like the back of her hand and knows it needs repairs.
“Everything needs a little bit of something around here,” Armstrong said. “It’s definitely in need of a little TLC.”
She says the bond money would not only benefit future students, but have an impact on her future.
“I want to come back to this community and be a teacher here,” Armstrong said.
If the $474 million bond passes, her school would receive $1.6 million. The money would help them get a new roof, fix the foundation, and build an elevator.
“Students come to school to learn, and we want to make sure there are no distractions for our students,” said Nicole Smith, CEO for Kansas City Girls Preparatory Academy.
But they are not alone among charter schools that need repairs and upgrades to their buildings.
Less than six miles away from Kansas City Girls Prep Academy is the Armour campus of Academie Lafayette, which would receive $13.6 million if the bond passes.
The school has no gym and no auditorium, adding an extra layer of work for Kate Absher, English and theater teacher.
“There was a lot of having to rework scenes this year because how we had rehearsed them in this room was not how we ended up doing them on stage,” said Absher.
They have to be creative and use other facilities for sports and theater practices. But their other buildings need work too, especially their HVAC systems.
“It’s extremely difficult because we have window units, and they make a lot of noise," Elimane Mbengue, superintendent at Academie Lafayette said. "When you're learning a foreign language, you need to concentrate and focus."
Improvements at their schools would help renew the community's self-esteem.
“It would bring such ownership to our community, and I think a lot of pride,” said Absher.
The bond money, if approved would impact both current and future generations of students in Kansas City.
It also would mean Armstrong could keep dreaming.
“It would be very important to me that my students have more opportunities than I had,” she said.
