Kansas City Public Schools bond vote: What to know about the April ballot question

Lincoln College Preparatory Academy sometimes appears on lists of the best high schools in the region.

You wouldn’t know it by looking at the building.

Principal Shanelle Smith pointed out the “oddly hexagonal-ish shape” multistory building additions known as “the pods,” clusters of classrooms with few windows, poor air circulation and patchwork repairs.

“I’ve had teachers drenched (in sweat), students needing to be relieved to breathe, to find air, because it’s so hot up there in the summertime,” she said. “It’s really hard to learn when you’re extremely uncomfortable.”

On another side of the building, a chunk of falling concrete nearly hit her car. Inside, the gym isn’t equipped to host home games. Teachers also have access to the electrical panel to address frequent short circuits on the third floor that trip breaker switches when the heat is running.

When Smith graduated from Lincoln in the late 1990s, the building seemed similar to other local schools.

But as many districts have passed bond issues — a way of borrowing money for building repairs, upgrades and construction and paying it back with tax dollars — Kansas City Public Schools hasn’t.

Now, when students visit other schools for competitions, they see disparities.

“It feels unfair. They name that all the time,” Smith said. “But I think it also builds grit in them too, where they just want to compete harder.”

Lincoln could see improved classrooms, athletic facilities and bathrooms if voters approve a $474 million bond issue on April 8. A new building addition would replace the pods.

All told, Lincoln would see $28.3 million of work from a KCPS building plan that would include repairs at every school, a new middle school in the vacant Southwest High School building, two new campuses centered around elementary schools and several major renovations.

The bond proposal also devotes $50 million to charter schools, spread across nine schools that reached agreements with KCPS.

But those projects depend on voters’ willingness to raise their own taxes to fund the plan.

Here’s what voters need to know about what the bond would do, how much it would cost them and how it could affect students.

“To promote public education, student and teacher safety, and academic performance, shall The School District of Kansas City 33 (d/b/a Kansas City Public Schools) issue general obligation bonds in the amount of $474,000,000, for constructing, repairing, improving, and equipping new and aging public school buildings, including safety and security measures, heating and cooling systems, roofs, plumbing, and other deferred maintenance?

“If this question is approved, the District will levy a debt service property tax in the estimated amount of $0.6100 per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation of real and personal property, with $50,000,000 of the total $474,000,000 amount of general obligation bonds allocated for nine participating public charter schools.”

Zachary Linhares

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The Beacon

A bond is a way for a school district to borrow money for big building projects that it couldn’t afford in its normal yearly budget.

In many districts, bonds routinely pass. But KCPS hasn’t convinced voters to pass a bond since 1967.

The district did receive an influx of money in the 1980s and ’90s as a result of court-ordered taxing and spending related to a desegregation case. Some of its newer schools were built then.

Since then, the lack of a bond has left the district behind on repairs and upgrades. KCPS says it needs $1.25 billion to address all its needs — about $650 million to fix deferred maintenance problems and another $600 million for improvements.

Overall, KCPS wants to raise $680 million of that amount over the next 10 years.

That includes a $100 million certificate of participation bond, which doesn’t require voter approval and wouldn’t raise property taxes.

In March, the board approved a bid to devote about $60 million of those bond funds toward building a new King Elementary campus.

In April, voters will decide whether to approve an additional $474 million bond — $50 million for charter schools and $424 million for KCPS. To pass, it would need the approval of four out of every seven voters.

KCPS could seek the remaining $156 million later, including through another bond.

KCPS predicts that for a $474 million bond, someone with a home valued at $200,000 would pay an additional $231.80 per year in property taxes. A commercial property with the same value would pay an additional $390.40 per year.

The district said the average home value in the district is $180,000.

Walk through Kansas City International Academy and you’ll pass cramped, oddly shaped offices and several mini-classrooms set up in a hallway — a whiteboard, a small table with chairs and a smartboard set up on a portable stand.

“We are attempting to take advantage of every nook and cranny available to us,” academy Superintendent Stacy King said. “That said, we have just run out of space to even support the students that we currently have enrolled.”

Charter schools can’t ask voters for a bond directly. But nine Kansas City charter schools have reached agreements for KCPS to pass along funds if voters approve the proposed bond issue.

KCPS asked that those schools not make changes that expand their enrollment capacity, but some are planning for building additions just to serve their current students.

Academie Lafayette is a well-regarded K-12 charter school that uses French immersion for grades K-8. It had the second-highest state performance score in 2024 out of more than 550 Missouri districts and charter schools.

Lafayette Superintendent Elimane Mbengue said middle school teams excel in sports such as soccer, cross-country and track. But by high school, some students leave for better athletic facilities.

Academie Lafayette’s combined middle and high school building doesn’t even have a gym. During a visit in early 2025, students attended physical education class in a room equipped with tumbling mats and nets strung between pillars. The ceiling is too low for basketball hoops.

Vaughn Wheat

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The Beacon

Philanthropy helps the school purchase and renovate buildings, Mbengue said, but its last fundraising push fell short of paying for a gym and auditorium for the older students.

Combined, Kansas City’s 20 charter schools enroll about as many K-12 students as KCPS. Their share of the bond is a little more than 10% of the total amount, and more than half of the charter schools didn’t reach an agreement with KCPS at all.

Still, Mbengue said he’s grateful for the partnership and the ability to bring in some funds for his students.

“You will not see in the country (another) school district decide to partner with charter schools,” Mbengue said. “At least if (the bond is) passed, we can have $14 million. If you don’t partner, everybody loses.”

Funding amounts and tentative charter school plans call for:

• $13.6 million to Academie Lafayette directed toward an Armour campus gym and auditorium, windows on the Oak campus and roofs, HVAC systems and turf soccer fields on the Oak and Cherry campuses. 
• $10.3 million to Crossroads Charter Schools for HVAC, repairs, painting, window replacements, secure entry, roofing and community center. 
• $9.3 million to Hogan Preparatory Academy for a secondary gym, HVAC, plumbing and security. 
• $6.7 million to Kansas City International Academy for security enhancements, improvements to playgrounds and athletic fields, HVAC, windows, doors and adding flexible learning spaces. 
• $3.9 million to Citizens of the World for classroom improvement and deferred maintenance.
• $1.9 million to Kansas City Girls Preparatory Academy for elevator accessibility and roof and foundation repair. 
• $1.9 million to Scuola Vita Nuova for windows, HVAC, retaining wall repairs, drainage, fencing, insulation, laptops and furniture.
• $1.5 million to Gordon Parks Elementary for electrical and plumbing updates, new windows and classroom improvements.
• $500,000 to DeLaSalle Education Center for buses or vans, technology, science lab equipment and classroom libraries. 

For KCPS, funds would be used in three main areas:

• Deferred maintenance, such as roof repair, electrical, HVAC and plumbing. 
• Making buildings more suitable for teaching and learning.
• Moving KCPS sixth graders out of elementary schools and into middle schools.

Vaughn Wheat

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The Beacon

The plan the KCPS board approved calls for an additional middle school located at the former Southwest High School building in Brookside.

Currently, KCPS only has two neighborhood middle schools, which students attend based on where they live, and they only serve grades seven and eight.

The project would offer a neighborhood middle school south of Brush Creek and allow the district to move sixth graders into middle schools with seventh and eighth graders instead of elementary schools.

It also reopens the historic Southwest building, which many neighbors and alumni would like to see in use.

The option was “by far the runaway winner” when KCPS collected feedback on where the third middle school should land, Shain Bergan, KCPS public relations coordinator, said in an email.

Renovations to the building, which is larger than needed for a middle school and has sections built about 100 years ago, could cost about $70 million. Of that amount, $45.1 million would come from the bond and the district plans to raise the rest through a capital campaign or other sources.

Plans include replacing some of the more recent additions to the building with a secured entryway, storm shelter and gym.

KCPS would build two new campuses centered around elementary schools.

One $68 million project at the former King/Weeks site is called the King Empowerment Campus. It will house a new K-5 King Elementary School, a family empowerment center, Richardson Early Learning Center and the special education program for medically fragile students, which is currently located at Wheatley Elementary.

A family empowerment center will include services such as a food pantry, clothing closet, mini laundromat, dental clinic and a site for students to receive physicals, Superintendent Jennifer Collier said when the plan was originally introduced. The King project is a top priority because the district promised a new school at that location years ago.

KCPS plans to use a certificate of participation bond, which doesn’t rely on voter approval, to fund the project. The board already approved a bid for construction in March.

The district would spend the same dollar amount on a Woodland Empowerment Campus on the current Woodland site.

It would house a new K-5 elementary school for Whittier students, Woodland Early Learning Center, a family empowerment center and the Global Academy/Welcome Center for students new to the United States.

Renovations and a new addition at Central High School would allow the school to house career and technical education programs. The district plans to allocate $41.9 million to the project, which would allow it to close Manual Career and Technical Center instead of doing $100 million worth of work to update the building.

The district would build an addition to Hale Cook Elementary School to address overflowing schools in the southern part of the district and replace a temporary trailer. The $12.5 plan for Hale Cook also includes classroom, plumbing and exterior renovations.

KCPS’ two alternative schools, Success Academy at Knotts and Success Academy at Anderson, would merge at the Knotts location. The district would renovate and add to the building to maintain separation between elementary and secondary students, a $13.9 million project.

Renovations to Northeast and Central middle schools would include preparing the buildings to move sixth graders in from elementary schools as well as basics like improved plumbing, for a total of $5 million each.

East High School would see a new competition gym and a relocated cafeteria, while the old cafeteria is converted into classrooms. Along with classroom, HVAC and bathroom renovations, the total cost would be $33.7 million.

Lincoln Preparatory High School would see about $28.3 million worth of renovations, detailed in the introduction.

King Elementary School would move into a brand new building, vacating the former Kansas City Middle School of the Arts building on the Paseo Academy campus.

George Washington Carver Dual Language Academy would move into that building. The move would allow the program to expand and strengthen its connection to the Paseo dual language program. The building would see $12.1 million worth of renovations.

Melcher Elementary School would move into the former Carver building, which is newer and in better condition but would still receive $9.1 million of renovations. The school grew dramatically during the 2023-24 school year.

The African-Centered College Preparatory Academy would move out of its current 1960s-era building, which is oversized, into the former Satchel Paige Elementary School built in 1991. The new building would see $15.9 million worth of renovations.

KCPS is suggesting districtwide updates to keep schools “warm/cool, safe (and) dry” and improve learning environments.

Common renovations include updates to classrooms, bathrooms and plumbing, HVAC, outdoor spaces and windows.

Not counting schools reopening, changing buildings or expecting major renovations, the district would spend at least $5 million and, in some cases, more than $7 million on each school.

Compared to a plan from about two years ago that the district partially walked back, the current proposal is much less focused on closing schools.

There are no longer plans for students to be scattered to different buildings as their school closes, but some buildings will be vacated as an entire school moves into a new or renovated building.

Kansas City Public Schools has a website about the bond and the projects it would support at each school.

This story was originally published by The Beacon, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.