By Sylvia Maria Gross
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Missouri Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro held off on making recommendations about the governance of Kansas City, Missouri schools to the state board of education in a meeting in Branson today. In a written statement, Nicastro outlined the options, and said the Kansas City community needed more time to come to a consensus on the path ahead.
"While we believe that an appointed board with full authority could provide stronger leadership and a more aggressive path to improving student performance, the additional conflict that such a decision would create without clear community and legal authority is not worth the risk," Nicastro wrote.
Yesterday, Mayor Sly James proposed a mayoral takeover of the district, and asked that the loss of accreditation be postponed until July. Nicastro is sticking with the date: January 1, 2011.
