KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Voters rejected a $420 million bond issue Tuesday night that would have paid for renovations for several Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools schools and provided money to build new school buildings, a public library and an aquatic center.
So what's next for a school district with needs that will go unmet in the near future?
With no bond money, issues like roof leaks, exposed wires and plumbing issues still remain.
School Board President Randy Lopez says the district was hoping money from the bonds could have gone to critically-needed improvements.
“We’ll try to do what we can with the funds that are available, but it’s going to be really hard to do the amount of projects or the significant projects that we wanted to without the bond,” Lopez said.
Lopez also said he heard community members’ concerns, including the Wyandotte County Advocacy Coalition, about putting funds toward improving academics rather than buildings.
“It’s not an either or,” Lopez said. “We will continue to invest in our learning, in our curriculum for our academics, but we also have a responsibility to invest in our infrastructure, our facilities, so that our students and staff have spaces where they can teach and learn just like everyone else.”
Pamela Penn-Hicks has lived in the district for decades and her children and grandchildren went through USD 500 schools.
Penn-Hicks said she’s seen the quality of education decline over time.
“What I saw when my grandchildren went disturbed me greatly,” Penn-Hicks said. “So now, my great grandchildren are out of the district for the time being, and if there’s improvement later on, I wouldn’t have a problem with putting them back in.”
Penn-Hicks is among community members who opposed the bond in favor of a focus on academic improvement.
“We run into children who are not literate, who cannot make change, but they all went through 12 years of schooling,” she said.
But Penn-Hicks also sees the value in appearances. It’s the same approach she has for her garden.
“You want it to be visually pretty as well as effective,” Penn-Hicks said. “It’s like children, you know, you want them to be firmly planted.”
The district says it wants the same thing and that equitable learning spaces are a priority they’ll continue to push for.
“We’re hoping to reconvene all our committees and restart the conversation to engage folks from all sides of the issue so everyone feels heard, so everyone can express what they want to see in the proposal,” Lopez said.
Combining all the ingredients - it’s what Penn-Hicks does with her garden each day. But it’s not just her garden she’s tending to, it’s her community.
“Let’s sit down and bring those pieces together and look at how we’re going to improve this system,” Penn-Hicks said.
