KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Voters in the Kansas City, Kansas, Public School district will decide whether to approve a $420 million bond proposal on May 7.
The bond would allow the district to build five new schools, an aquatic center, a new library branch, and make other improvements.
"Every student would be impacted and touched by this bond," KCKPS Superintendent Dr. Anna Stubblefield said.
If voters approve the bond, the district would combine Emerson and New Stanley elementary schools into one new building.
Silver City and Noble Prentis elementary schools would also combine and move to a new building.
The district will merge Lindbergh and Eugene Ware elementary schools into a new building. The district would also replace Central and Argentine middle schools.
Other improvements include classroom additions at Whittier and M.E. Pearson elementary schools and gymnasium additions at F.L. Schlage and J.C. Harmon high schools.
The district would build a new aquatic center which would allow it to expand a program designed to teach students to swim as part of a daily curriculum.
The program is currently only offered as an after-school option.
The school district and Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library share a unique partnership. This bond would raise money to help the library build a new main branch.
The library and district aquatic center will both be open to the public.
Stubblefield said the district will pay off the bond over 30 years using money from property tax revenues. Approving the bond will result in $97.50 extra per year in property taxes for every $100,000 a person’s property is valued.
On Tuesday, the district took KSHB 41 News reporter Charlie Keegan to Lindbergh Elementary School and Central Middle School to see how the bond would improve learning environments for students.
Lindebergh Principal Dustin Wiley showed roof leaks, exposed wires, plumbing issues, and portable or modular classrooms which were meant to be temporary but have been in place for years.
“It rains and it really gets in here,” Wiley said from inside a classroom. “We’ll have wet spots. Our custodians are amazing, but there’s only so much they can do.”
At Central Middle School, Principal Dr. Ileana Farney showed how the school uses sandbags to keep rainwater from entering the building.
Several bathrooms have water damage, an air conditioning unit leaks into the library, and the school office is located too far from the main entrance.
Some Central Middle School students presented the superintendent with their vision for a new school.
“You obviously can tell they have pride in their school,” Farney said. “They’re just problem solvers.”
In 2016, voters approved a similar bond which allowed the district to build several new school buildings including Carl B. Bruce Middle School, which opened in 2021.
The school now has a STEM Lab, a multi-purpose gymnasium, theater, collaborative spaces, comfortable furniture and many other upgrades.
“I like how it’s clean and I can focus just fine. There are not much distractions,” Jaydon, an eighth grade student, said.
Some organizations like the Wyandotte County Commonwealth Advocacy Coalition have come out against the bond proposal.
In February, the group held a meeting to encourage voters to choose no.
“It doesn't mean we don't care. It means, can we do this differently? So hopefully if the ‘no's' win, we can go back, reassess, look at things and decide what's best,” said Wanda Brownlee Paige, who also serves on the district’s school board.
Stubblefield said this bond will not take away from the district’s attention on academics.
“It is not an ‘or.’ We’re absolutely focused on improving the academic outcomes for our students while at the same time improving the facilities for our students. It’s an ‘and’ for us,” Stubblefield said.
Early voting is underway now. Election day is May 7.
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