KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Carolyn Wyatt has lived in Kansas City, Kansas, for more than 70 years. There isn't much else she values above education.
"The first thing I ask my nieces and nephews when I pick them up — what did you learn today?" Wyatt said.
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Wyatt knows the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools district quite well, just like Pamela Penn-Hicks and Tscher Manck. Their children grew up in the district too.
They reached out to KSHB 41, because as taxpayers, they're disappointed in the school district having a conditional accreditation.
That means the Kansas Department of Education recognizes them in good standing, but there isn't enough evidence of growth.
"Just the thought of losing or being on the borderline does something to the kids about to graduate," Wyatt said.
Some of the data from the state's report card found the district's average ACT score was 15.3, compared to the state average of 19.8.
The district's graduation rate was 68.8% compared to the state average of 89.3%.
Randy Lopez, the district's board president, said they're hoping with the steps they're taking, they'll have full accreditation status by next year.
"We're working on improving graduation rates and absenteeism, making sure students are in classrooms when they're supposed to be," Lopez said.
By 2031, Lopez said they want all graduating students to have a diploma plus. That means they’ll have a diploma, as well as a 21 on their ACT, over 1000 on their SAT or a certain number of college credits.
The school board's president said 61% of their last graduating class met that standard.
The district has been in the process of reviewing a master plan since February. It could include spending money on demolishing, renovating and/or combining schools that have needed maintenance for years.
A bond initiative passed in 2016 to build new schools, rebuild and renovate other schools to make them more "state of the art," according to Lopez.
He said there was always a plan to do a second phase, but it was delayed.
"A building is a building," Wyatt said. "Back in the day, you might have been in a little house but you got a good education."
Some families want the district to pause on reviewing these plans until they are fully accredited.
"They're constantly asking us for money, and it looks like a bad investment," Manck said. "Who would invest in anything that's failing?"
Lopez said they're working in a number of ways to do better every day and listen to families giving feedback about their potential investments.
"Yeah, there's still some questions and we take that seriously," he said. "We also hear optimism and the potential to build some quality and state of the art facilities our students deserve."
The return on investment that some taxpayers want to see isn't in the buildings.
"Pamela Penn-Hicks wants to see our children thriving not just surviving and that's the bottom line," Penn-Hicks said.
Discussions about the district's master plan are still ongoing and there isn't a timeline for when they will approve it as a board. The final decision will be left up to voters.
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