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Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Wants Development Projects To 'Focus On Equity'

By Steve Kraske,

Published March 1, 2021 at 11:11 PM CST

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In June 2020, Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell wrote a scathing letter to Kansas City Councilmembers where he called an inventive deal for a construction company "systemically racist."

Superintendent Mark Bedell is pleased to see Kansas City reducing tax incentive policies for developers, but still feels the district should have a bigger seat at the table when it comes to considering proposed development projects.

Recent tax incentives have caused schools to lose millions of dollars that could have gone towards educating local students. "We're not an anti-economic development district, but we want to have a focus on equity," Bedell says.

Mark Bedell, superintendent of Kansas City Public Schools

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Up To Date Podcast Kansas City Missouri (KCMO)Kansas City Public Schools Mark Bedell tax incentive remote learning development

Steve Kraske

When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.

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Chris Young

Chris Young is an Assistant Producer for KCUR’s Up To Date. Contact him at chrisy@kcur.org.

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Mackenzie Martin

Whether it’s something happening right now or something that happened 100 years ago, some stories don’t fit in the short few minutes of a newscast. As a podcast producer and reporter at KCUR Studios, I help investigate questions and local curiosities in a way that brings listeners along for adventures with plot twists and thought-provoking ideas. Sometimes there isn’t an easy answer in the end – but my hope is that we all leave with a greater understanding of the city we live in. Reach me at mackenzie@kcur.org.

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