Will a new plan for a pre-K tax be hatched in secret? Or will the public be invited?

Last week, a handful of local school officials met with Urban League of Greater Kansas City officials to discuss “strategies” for implementing an early childhood education program in the area.

As you’ll remember, Mayor Sly James spent part of this year pushing a pre-K initiative for this November’s ballot. Opposition from some school superintendents — and concerns about the $30 million in new sales taxes each year — forced a delay in the vote.

The mayor was not a part of last week’s Urban League meeting, although he was invited.

The meeting was not publicized and was not for the general public. One attendee called it a private precursor to a public discussion.

Providing early education for pre-kindergarten students should be a priority for this city. But James and his allies took the wrong approach by drafting their initial plan largely in private, without a full discussion of the merits of using sales taxes to accomplish the goal.

Kansas Citians should be encouraged that talks continue. They should be skeptical of behind-the-scenes discussions about the issue.

A locally-financed pre-K education program must be openly debated before the April vote. That means hearings, position papers, interviews, news conferences. It means an open dialogue with all stakeholders, including taxpayers who will be asked to foot the bill.

Secrecy and backroom negotiations should have no place in this effort.

We opposed a secret process to build a new airport terminal and have loudly complained about subsequent attempts to block access to discussions about the project.

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority was wrong when it tried to ignore open records and open meetings requirements, making the absurd claim that its bistate structure exempted it from disclosure laws.

Dark money spending and contributions should not be a part of political campaigns. We argued against former Gov. Eric Greitens’ obsession with secrecy.

Recently, we voiced skepticism about the closed meetings about how to spend the one-eighth-cent Central City sales tax. A public hearing is set for Wednesday to discuss the proposals.

Open dialogue on these issues, and others, isn’t just healthy for government and democracy. It makes it easier for the public to support these initiatives and the taxes to pay for them.

Approving a sales tax increase for pre-K education will be a tough lift. It will be impossible if voters think the program was cooked up in a back room, without the full involvement of parents, school administrators, officeholders and taxpayers.

This story was originally published October 23, 2018 at 2:57 PM.