KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Public Schools Board of Directors will vote Wednesday night on whether to put a $424 million bond proposal on the April 2025 ballot to pay for much-needed repairs and new buildings.
Voters haven't passed a school bond in the district since 1967.
RELATED | KCPS officials say passage of bond critical for district’s future
"Numerous studies, including the 2021 State of our Schools Report, have found that temperature, classroom layout, building design, acoustics, lighting and air quality all support better educational outcomes," according to information on the district's website. "This is a significant challenge without dedicated funding for facility improvements."
KCPS allowed KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis inside Northeast Middle School to see the challenges faced by students, teachers and staff by the rundown condition of the buildings.
“Unfortunately, it has become a mindset for the students that when you’re used to being in a space that doesn’t have what you need, you just get used to it, and that’s not OK,” Dr. Allenda Wilson, the school's principal, told Abundis.
The school is more than 100 years old.
Part of the bond money, if approved, would be spent to build a new middle school at the district's southern boundary.
The district says it has $650 million in deferred maintenance.
District officials held open houses and meetings at schools and other venues to convince voters of the need for the bond money.
The vote on the bond proposal will come during the board's meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the board room at district headquarters, 2901 Troost Ave.
—
