Parents pack Lee’s Summit meeting, implore board to follow ex-superintendent’s vision
Parents packed a Lee’s Summit school board meeting this week to praise the work of former Superintendent Dennis Carpenter, whose regisnation was announced Tuesday, and to hold the board accountable for the plan for equity training that he championed.
Erica Wilson described his exit as a “huge loss” and recognized him as a “courageous champion for marginalized children” in the two years he led the district.
“As we look forward, I can’t help but feel that we — all of us — owe it to all our children and we owe it to him to get this equity thing right,” said Wilson, who was one of eight parents, most of them African American, who addressed the board Thursday night. “As you go on to carry out this very critical work, I want you to know that it’s not enough to identify as not racist. You have to be actively and intentionally doing the work that gets the things that oppress, dehumanize and marginalize the children and families of (the district) or your work means nothing.”
“Regardless of who is sitting in that superintendent’s seat,” said Cortney Ray, a parent joined by her two children going into eighth and third grades, “these two beautiful black children deserve the best. ... You owe it to every child in this district to make sure the staff you employ are culturally competent and responsive. That can only be achieved through the work Dr. Carpenter and his team initiated here in this district. The equity work must continue, and we are here for the long haul to ensure that that happens.”
The Lee’s Summit community has been divided over Carpenter and his plan since he first proposed equity training at the beginning of last school year. Carpenter and the board entered mediation to determine his future with the district. In the end, he left with a $750,000 severance.
The division in the community was apparent on social media this week, with some lamenting his loss and others saying the equity plan would “punish the majority of students for the minority.”
Thursday night’s speakers were firmly on the side of Carpenter.
“Our voices have been marginalized long enough,” Michael Shaw told the board.
“We want to be at the table and not on the menu. So as we go forward, all that I ask is, that as an African American parent of this community for 19 years, I want our voices to be heard and decisions made about how you teach our children. ... Please allow the African American parents to be engaged and involved in how this program works.”
At least one parent, Rodrick Sparks, called for the board president to resign and for other members to be voted out of office. Since moving his two children from the Blue Valley school district in Johnson County to Lee’s Summit schools, Sparks, an African American man, said the conversation has been focused on race and how his family has been treated.
“Instead of me getting emails on how well my daughter is doing ... I get a phone call that she’s coloring on her hand. Why is she coloring on her hand? Because you’re not challenging her. Why isn’t she being challenged? Because we don’t care about all students,” Sparks said.
Directly addressing the board, Sparks continued: “What we have to do is that if you’re going to sit in these seats, you have to care for every single student that cross your path, regardless of what they look like, regardless of what their background is, regardless of what their economic status is.”
The meeting kicked off with a short statement from Emily Miller, who was named acting superintendent Tuesday.
“I wanted to take this time to acknowledge our change in leadership,” she said. “As this is my first meeting as our district’s acting superintendent, as we conveyed in our communication this week, we acknowledge that the last several months have been difficult with a range of emotions involved,” Miller said, repeating the district’s announcement of Carpenter’s resignation.
Following the public comments, Kelly Wachel, a district spokeswoman, told reporters outside the board room it’s been a “difficult” time in the school district.
“I’d like to say that right now we’re seeking to understand, to listen. Tonight was a time to listen to our public and hear some thoughts from them, to also understand that we have some work to do to move forward, and we certainly understand that,” Wachel said.
“We’re preparing for over 18,000 students in the next couple weeks when school starts, and right now we’re really holding that in utmost importance in trying to prepare for our kids and our families and taking care of all of them.”
The first day of school in Lee’s Summit is Aug. 14.
This story was originally published July 26, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
