More than 1,000 KCK kids would go to different schools if district redraws map
Morning commutes to school may look a little different for families across Kansas City, Kansas, in a few years.
Roughly 1,200 students across Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools may be directly affected by plans to redraw campus boundaries for the local school system, according to the district.
School board members in December will decide whether to move forward with changes that would even out campus enrollment numbers across grade levels and fill new school buildings expected to be built in coming years. Ideally the changes will reduce overcrowding in some schools and boost enrollment in others that have more open seats.
If approved, many students would change schools, starting in the 2027-28 school year.
“The changes also prioritize stronger feeder alignment, improved transportation routes and neighborhood cohesion,” according to the district’s website.
A committee tasked with analyzing enrollment data and drafting that into a recommended plan for campus realignment has been meeting since June, according to the district. The KCKPS school board will hear a first reading of a final proposal on Nov. 11 and make its final decision on Dec. 9, according to its website.
KCKPS expects this to change where 243 incoming ninth graders, 346 incoming sixth-grade students and 617 students in grades K-2 will attend school in the 2027-28 year.
The following campuses would keep their existing students but may see new students on campus: Banneker, Douglass, Eugene Ware, Frank Rushton, Hazel Grove, John Fiske, Lindbergh, Lowell Brune, Mark Twain, McKinley, Stony Point North, Stony Point South, T.A. Edison, Wellborn, West Park and Whittier elementary schools and Arrowhead Middle School.
KCKPS wants to decrease Wyandotte High School’s enrollment down to 1,600 or less from about 1,900 students. Altering which elementary and middle school campuses feed to which high schools aims to not overload Wyandotte and to increase enrollment at F.L. Schlagle High School.
Doing so would bring Schlagle’s enrollment up from about 900 students to at least 1,000, according to the district’s website.
“Wyandotte High School is the only school projected to be over capacity,” according to the district. “This is largely due to the high concentration of families living within its boundary area. Addressing this is a key focus of the proposed changes.”
KCKPS also identified crowding among its elementary campuses and Carl B. Bruce Middle School.
Campus changes
Should the plan be approved, students attending Quindaro, Whittier and Grant elementary schools will attend different middle and high schools than they otherwise would’ve.
Currently, students attending Quindaro Elementary School move on to Carl B. Bruce Middle School, then attend Wyandotte High School after that. Under the new plan, Quindaro students would attend middle school at Gloria Willis Middle School, then move on to F.L. Schlagle High School.
Whittier Elementary students typically attend Central Middle School and Wyandotte High School. The new plan would send Whittier students to Rosedale Middle School and on to J.C. Harmon High School.
Grant elementary students currently go to Rosedale Middle School, followed by J.C. Harmon High School. Proposed changes would move Grant kids to Central Middle School and onto Wyandotte High School.
“The changes will help balance enrollment within our schools for better access to programs and resources,” according to the district. “Students will also benefit from more opportunities to connect with peers, while families can engage in new school communities, events, and activities.”
And although families and buses would learn new routes to school, the district doesn’t anticipate many will see particularly longer commutes.
The district said it anticipates school commutes to increase by no more than two-to-three minutes, if at all. The boundaries change bus eligibility within the district’s neighborhoods, meaning some students that didn’t qualify for district public transportation may now, according to the district.
“Some bus routes may be slightly shorter, and some may be slightly longer. Routes will be designed to keep ride times reasonable,” according to a district statement.
New buildings incoming
After the approval of a $180 million bond initiative last year, KCKPS pledged to construct two new middle schools, consolidate two elementary campuses into one and add an addition to Sumner Academy within five years.
The district pitched the bond as a way to offer newer learning environments for students who had been attending classes in dated facilities it deemed no longer suitable.
KCKPS expects to construct new campuses for Argentine Middle School and a campus that would host the consolidated Silver City and Noble Prentis elementary schools, which are projected to cost a combined $90 million.
The district is considering whether to consolidate New Staley Elementary into the new elementary campus as well.
A new campus for Central Middle School and the addition to Sumner will cost roughly $63 million, according to the district.
Boundary changes would establish who will be the first students to learn in some of those new facilities.
