Vote yes on Kansas City Public Schools bond to keep our students’ progress on track | Opinion
On April 8, voters in the Kansas City Public School District will have the opportunity to greatly improve the educational environment for our students and teachers. The district seeks approval of a $474 million bond to improve every public school and nine public charter schools. Under Missouri law, it takes four-sevenths or 57.14% of the vote to pass. KCPS is the only school district in the Kansas City metropolitan area without dedicated bond funding for building improvements. It is time for us to make this critical investment to support our students, teachers and community.
KCPS has made significant strides over the past decade. This progress resulted in the district achieving full accreditation in January 2022. Today, we see student growth in critical subject areas, a graduation rate of nearly 90%, renewed focus on college and career readiness, an increasing enrollment rate, stability in superintendent leadership and sound board governance. These improved outcomes result from the hard work of so many over the past 15 years, including former superintendent Dr. Mark Bedell, current superintendent Dr. Jennifer Collier, our students and teachers, families, community and school board members. It is time to support this progress with improved facilities.
Today, our schools have more than $1.25 billion in deferred maintenance and improved learning environment needs. Our average building is more than 60 years old, and many are in need of urgent repairs to major systems including heating, cooling, plumbing and roofing. This bond would provide our students and teachers with safe, healthy and effective learning environments. A growing body of evidence suggests students learn better in schools with clean spaces, good lighting, fresh air and updated systems. It is time to invest in better buildings for our students and teachers. Full details are available at kcpsbond.org
Nearly 60 years ago — 1967 — was the last time voters approved bonds for KCPS facility maintenance and improvements. District buildings received significant resources in the early 1990s, but this was because of a court order that mandated how and where those funds were to be spent. This effort neglected to take into consideration all the schools in the district. In the 35 years since, KCPS has navigated many challenges and has had to rebuild its systems, performance and relationships with the community. Today, we believe the way to move forward with improving our schools is in partnership with our residents, through a voter approved process. It is time to invest in the future of our students and empower them and their teachers to thrive in healthier and safer school buildings.
KCPS dedicated a significant portion of the recent property tax revenue growth to our capital fund to work on these critical repairs. In 2023, we dedicated 66 cents of our operating levy, which was more than 13% of our total local property tax revenue. In 2024, it was 30 cents of our operating levy, more than 6% of our total local property tax revenue. We also used this growth to support increases in teacher pay, high dosage tutoring to accelerate growth in student literacy and transportation improvements in 2024. In addition, we recently approved an additional $100 million in Certificate Of Participation bonds to be funded from the existing property tax revenue to begin addressing a portion of these deferred needs. To further address maintenance and update learning spaces, KCPS still needs voter approved bond funding.
We recognize that we are asking taxpayers to increase their financial commitments to educate our community’s students. The average home value within our boundaries is just under $200,000. Approval of this bond would increase these homeowners’ property taxes by 64 cents per day, or about $19.32 per month. This investment would provide safe, high quality spaces for all students, which in turn support better academic outcomes and a better prepared workforce.
We are committed to transparency and accountability throughout this bond process. An independent Community Bond Oversight Committee will be established. Regular outside audits will be performed, and easily accessible public updates on the bond project progress will be given to ensure funds are spent as promised. It is time to invest so that every school benefits and every student wins.