When Kansas City-area voters head to the polls on April 8, they’ll have the opportunity to decide where their tax dollars go and choose their local school board members.
Many school districts are asking voters to approve higher taxes to fund building repairs and updates. Voters will also weigh in on who will lead several school boards in the Kansas City area.
Some cities will also ask voters to decide whether they want to invest in public safety measures, such as building a new municipal jail in Kansas City or a police campus in Independence.
KCUR has compiled a list of candidates, rules and deadlines for voting and information on each question.
How to check your registration status
Missouri residents must be 18 years old by Election Day and a U.S. citizen in order to vote.
You can check your voter registration on the Secretary of State website. If you’re not registered, you’re unfortunately out of luck, as the deadline to register to vote in this election was March 12.
How to vote at the polls in person
Polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. Don’t leave if you’re in line at closing time because you still have the right to cast your ballot.
You can check your polling location on the Secretary of State website.
How to vote ahead of Election Day
If you requested your absentee ballot by March 26, you can use this method to vote.
Residents can cast an absentee vote at the local election office until 5 p.m. the day before the election.
You can vote absentee for the following reasons:
- If you won’t be in the jurisdiction where you’re registered to vote on Election Day.
- If you have a physical disability or illness, or are primarily responsible for the physical care of someone who has an illness or disability.
- If you cite religious beliefs or practices.
- If you are employed as an election worker or by an election authority at a location that’s not your polling place.
- If you are incarcerated.
- If you are a certified participant in an address confidentiality program because of safety concerns.
Any Missouri voter can vote absentee without an excuse during the two weeks before the election at a location designated by their local election authority.
What you need to vote
Missouri law requires photo identification to cast a ballot. The following are forms of acceptable identification as long as they are not expired:
- A Missouri driver’s or non-driver’s license.
- A military ID or veteran’s ID card.
- A United States passport.
- Another photo ID issued by the United States or state which is either not expired or expired after the date of the most recent general election.
Here’s a guide to obtaining a photo ID in Missouri.
If you are a registered voter but don’t have a photo ID, you can cast a provisional ballot. You can check if your provisional ballot was counted by following the instructions on a stub inside your ballot envelope.
Absentee voters who requested a ballot by mail and have not voted in person must submit a copy of their photo ID unless they provided a copy with their voter registration application.
Absentee voters who cast their ballots in person aren’t eligible for a provisional ballot.
What will be on the ballot
Kansas City
Question 1: Sales tax to fund a new jail
Kansas City will ask voters to decide whether to renew the city’s 1/4-cent public safety sales tax as part of its efforts to fund and build a new municipal jail.
The current tax is set to expire June 2026 unless voters renew it for a second time. If renewed, the public safety sales tax, which currently generates about $24 million a year, would run for 20 more years.
The city has said it plans to use a bulk of that money to build a new city jail in eastern Jackson County, next to the site of the new Jackson County Detention Center along U.S. Highway 40 near Blue Valley Park.
The city already approved spending $2.3 million to purchase the land for the jail from Jackson County.
Question 2: Allowing the city to sell Longfellow Park
Kansas City will ask voters if it can sell 3.42 acres of Longfellow Park at 25th and Gillham to a nonprofit that will provide families with access to free housing, lodging and services.
The ballot language does not explicitly name the nonprofit, but the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City announced it was pursuing the opportunity to purchase the property through the April 8 ballot measure.
The Ronald McDonald House said it pays the city’s parks and recreation department $1 a year to lease Longfellow Park while it pays all costs for maintaining the area’s green space. However, the city owns the house since it’s located on city land.
The campus has been housed there for the past 20 years, giving families seeking health care for their children easy access to Children’s Mercy Hospital.
If Question 2 passes, the charity said it will expand in Longfellow Park to create 40 additional bedrooms and serve 1,400 more families a year. It plans to fundraise for the expansion costs and preserve 1.5 acres of green space and the current walking path.
Question: Approval for Kansas City Public Schools’ general obligation bond
Kansas City Public Schools will ask voters to approve more than $400 million in bonds to update classrooms and fund long-standing maintenance needs. The school district hasn’t successfully passed a bond in nearly 60 years.
KCPS is the only Missouri school district in the region without tax revenue for improving and constructing new buildings, and its aging buildings reflect that disinvestment.
Four out of every seven voters — or about 57% — have to approve the measure for it to pass.
If voters approve the measure, KCPS would receive $424 million. Up to $50 million of the funding would go to eight participating charter schools.
A taxpayer with a $200,000 home within KCPS’s boundaries would pay about 64 cents a day, or $231.80 a year, according to the district. The district's median home value is $180,000.
Kansas City Public Schools Board of Education
Seven candidates are running for four spots on KCPS’ seven-member school board. All residents who live within the school district’s boundaries will vote among two at-large candidates. Candidates are also running for spots in subdistricts 1, 3 and 5.
Board members serve four-year terms. Here’s a full guide to the candidates and their stances and priorities.
At-large
Subdistrict 1
Subdistrict 3
Subdistrict 5
Hickman Mills School District Board of Education
Five candidates are running for two spots on the Hickman Mills school board to serve three-year terms. Here’s a full guide to the candidates and their stances and priorities.
- Teresa Murphy
- Beth Boerger, incumbent
- Tramise Carter
- Clifford Ragan III
- Vanessa Claborn
Jackson County
Question: Approval for Independence general obligation bond
Voters in Independence will consider whether to approve a $197 million general obligation bond to fund city projects that leaders say are necessary and, in some cases, overdue.
It’s the first time in the city’s 200-year history that it will ask residents to approve a bond, but some believe it faces an uphill climb following recent controversies over property tax assessments in Jackson County.
The ballot will include three separate bond questions targeting public safety, infrastructure and historic restoration. Each question can pass separately from the others as long as it is approved by a four-sevenths majority.
Most of the $130 million aimed at improving public safety would go toward building a new police campus.
Question: Approval for Lee’s Summit School District obligation bond
The Lee’s Summit School District is asking voters to approve a $225 million general obligation bond.
If the measure passes, the school district will rebuild Greenwood Elementary and Hazel Grove Elementary at new sites. Both schools were originally built at least 80 years ago.
The bond would also allow the school district to expand Pleasant Lea Middle School and address the district’s deferred maintenance.
The district hasn’t yet decided whether it will close Lee’s Summit Elementary School after parents pushed back on an initial proposal to combine it with Westview Elementary School. The bond vote will not determine that decision and the district is currently getting community feedback on future plans.
Depending on whether schools are consolidated, bond funding could also go toward Lee’s Summit Elementary, Westview Elementary or Pleasant Lea Elementary for a major project.
Lee’s Summit School District Board of Education
Four candidates are running for two open seats on the Lee’s Summit school board that are currently held by Jennifer Foley and Heather Eslick.
Board members serve three-year terms. Here’s a full guide to the candidates and their stances and priorities.
Raytown School District Board of Education
Seven candidates are running for two open seats on the Raytown School District’s school board. Board members serve three-year terms. Here’s a full guide to the candidates and their stances and priorities.
- Jordan Jamerson
- Jules Sneddon
- Bobbie Saulsberry, incumbent
- Edna Adelusola
- Joe Creamer
- Sam Madson
- David Holman
Platte County
Proposition G: Raise operating property tax rate for Park Hill School District
The Park Hill School District will ask voters to approve a 10-cent increase to its operating tax rate to improve teacher and staff salaries and benefits.
The school district said its operating tax levy has stayed at or below the level voters approved in 2002.
If the tax increase passes, the district said it would increase pay for new teachers to rank in the top five among 14 other Kansas City-area districts and the top three for total teacher salaries. Currently, the district said it ranks 12th for beginning teacher pay and eighth for average teacher salaries.
Proposition O: Raise operating property tax rate for Park Hill School District
The school district is also asking for voters to approve a $128 million bond to invest in facilities and address its older buildings. The proposition will need 57% support to pass.
If the bond passes, the district would begin the first phase of a plan to replace Park Hill High School. That includes relocating the baseball field and improving the high school’s stadium.
It would also improve the field and stadium at Park Hill South High School and expand Chinn, Line Creek and Southeast elementary schools. Other projects include renovations for high school programs, security upgrades across the district and land purchases for future facility needs.
The Beacon Kansas City reported that someone living within Park Hill’s boundaries who owns a $300,000 home would pay $57 more per year for Prop G, $171 more for Prop O or $228 more if both propositions pass.
Clay County
Question: Approval for North Kansas City Schools obligation bond
North Kansas City Schools will ask voters to approve a $175 million bond to upgrade buildings.
If the bond passes, the district would add performing arts centers to Oak Park and Winnetonka high schools to expand theater, choir, band and orchestra opportunities. The district said existing space would be renovated into additional classrooms and art spaces.
The district would also use the bond to add a new gym and high-wind shelter at Northgate and New Mark middle schools. Both would also receive flooring, paint and lighting updates. Northgate would also receive accessibility improvements, and New Mark would get a renovated library space.
Oakwood Manor Elementary School would receive a new gym, and the whole district would receive cyclical maintenance projects including roofing, flooring and air conditioning units.
North Kansas City Schools Board of Education
Six candidates are running for two open seats on the North Kansas City Schools Board of Education.
Board members serve three-year terms. Here’s a full guide to the candidates and their stances and priorities.
