Unfettered Letters

Time to appoint KC school board

A recent poll conducted to measure citizen satisfaction with the current Kansas City school board showed a substantial majority disapproves of the way the board handles issues and supports changing from the current elected board to an appointed board (3/5, Local). I share these sentiments and hope our legislators in Jefferson City will vote for legislation needed to empower Kansas City citizens to petition for an election to vote for an appointed board.

Opponents of this effort suggest that would take power from the community. This is far from the truth, since the community would have the opportunity to vote for this change and the committee appointing the board would be a cross section of education, community and civic leaders. In reality, only about 8 percent of the community votes in board elections, and many of the spots are filled by people running unopposed.

We desperately need to bring a new level of professionalism to the school board. The most effective way to get that done is with appointed members. The plight of the schools affects all of us, so I urge every citizen to let their legislators know they support this effort.

We cannot wait any longer for positive change.

Judy Sherry
Kansas City

‘Murder Factory’ needs better schools

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver seems to believe that all the problems in the 64130 ZIP code can be solved by investing in churches and ministers (2/1, Opinion, “How to close ’Murder Factory’; Churches: Key players”).

Rep. Cleaver, I have news for you. Nothing will ever change in the “Murder Factory” unless and until the kids who grow up there are given the opportunity to receive an education.

There are many churches and an abundance of ministers and reverends in the neighborhood. There are no good public schools. Why? Because the Kansas City school board is an abysmal failure and has been for 30 years. You need only to look at their record.

What these kids so desperately need is a real leader to stand up and lead. Abolish this incompetent and dysfunctional board. Replace board members with individuals who actually care about teaching the kids.

Stephen G. Spruill
Pleasant Hill

Appointing KC school board

Thank you to Steve Penn for his column “School oversight plan undemocratic” (2/3, Local). In the article, Spark Bookhart, who is leading a fight against state legislation that would change the Kansas City school board from an elective body to an appointed one, suggested that I support an appointed school board for Kansas City.

Serving in the Missouri Legislature, I have studied many proposals touted as fixes. Some are good; some are bad. But I think it is important that I research all options. Upon discovering the best idea, I will present it to the people so we can decide as a community through election.

I will not stand by as our children lose opportunities due to lack of education. They didn’t fail the system; the system failed them.

If I am wrong for listening to an idea, if I am wrong to explore any opportunity to provide a quality education, or if I am wrong to fight for the people of my community to ensure that our children are not ignored, then I don’t want to be right.

Missouri Rep. Leonard “Jonas” Hughes IV
Democrat, Kansas City

What’s really wrong with KC schools

Melissa Eddy (1/10, Letters) urges us to appoint school board members instead of having them elected. That is not the answer to the problems of the Kansas City School District. The real problem faced by the district is lack of support from the community.

The reason for the lack of support is because of the lingering racist attitudes manifested by the lack of passage of a single bond issue to improve the schools since the ’60s. When the black children showed up in the Kansas City area, the white people began to scatter north, east, south and west. If you look in the yearbooks of the ’60s and fast forward, you see the vanishing white faces that used to be in those yearbooks.

We as a community did not have to do this. We could have come together and supported the schools, but we did not. It was not necessary to build magnet schools to appease white people and try to entice them to come back to the district. All we really needed were good teachers, good books and good equipment. We just do not have the will power.

Clarence Edmondson Jr.
Kansas City

It’s time to appoint KC school board

As a parent of two students in the Kansas City, Mo., School District, I have a vested interest in the district’s success. Joe Robertson’s article (12/24, Local, “Governance of KC schools up for debate”) highlights the important discussion on appointed school boards that is taking place within our community.

Turning around our district after nearly 30 years of dysfunction will require a change in the governance system. If a board were to set a tone of excellence, accountability, efficiency and competence, it would trickle down to all levels of administration and instruction.

The trend of replacing politically charged elected school boards with appointed boards is proving effective in urban school districts across the nation. According to The Education Mayor, Improving America’s Schools by Kenneth Wong and associates, appointed school boards have been responsible for significant successes in academic achievement, higher graduation rates, greater fiscal responsibility and better management of human capital than elected school boards in urban districts.

Please join us at Do the Right Thing for Kids, a diverse group of nearly 1,000 parents and citizens, in advocating for legislation to replace our elected school board with an appointed board of highly qualified local leaders. Go to www.kc4kids.wordpress.com

Melissa Eddy
Chairperson, Do the Right Thing for Kids
Kansas City

‘Troublesome’ state of KC schools

The headline “KC schools’ statistics prove troublesome” (12/11, A-1) simply restates the reality of the last two generations of the Kansas City schools. The reports always have excuses for inaccuracy, evasions and failures.

I don’t think this report will be “troublesome” enough to anybody in a position of responsibility to do anything but make feeble, misleading promises to correct this accepted criminal abuse of Kansas City children.

E.D. Robertson
Leawood

The article in The Star detailing the abysmal performance of the (provisionally accredited) Kansas City school system makes many salient points but completely misses the underlying tragedy.

Aside from some apparently anomalous mathematics (inexplicably, the combined student graduation and dropout rates exceed 100 percent), I honestly wonder why the dropout rate isn’t higher.

Given that a “passing grade” on no fewer than nine of fourteen standards is required to achieve “full accreditation” (Kansas City “passed” only four), what employer would ever be willing to accept a Kansas City schools diploma as evidence of appropriate educational attainment without additional corroborating (think ACT scores) evidence? Indeed, it is highly likely that the dropout rate of Kansas City school students is an entirely rational response predicated upon the fact that graduation from a Kansas City high school has essentially zero credibility in the market.

So, the tragedy isn’t that students are dropping out at an alarming rate; that’s merely a symptom of the underlying problems.

Rather, the real tragedy is that patent mismanagement and a complete lack of competition has led many Kansas City students to the sad conclusion that the only time they were wasting was the time they spent in school.

Stephen W. Pruitt
Professor of finance, UMKC
Overland Park

KC students deserve better

David Smith wants out. Ingrid Burnett quit a few weeks ago. Both Smith and Burnett seem to be perfectly rational people (11/6, Local, “KC school board member to quit; Smith is waiting to talk publicly of his decision. He’d be the second to step down in six weeks”).

Ken Bacchus, the Tracy Avenue real estate genius, wants remaining members to persevere. Ajamu Webster, who leads the task force that manages the district’s African-centered education campus, believes the current board is the best functioning in many years.

It’s very clear to me this Board of Education is a train wreck. Let’s get rid of it now. These kids have waited way too long for a shot at a decent education.

Stephen Spruill
Pleasant Hill

KC’s interim superintendent

The Kansas City school board picks a new interim superintendent while it searches for a permanent replacement (10/23, Local).

Considering the district’s record of short tenure for superintendents, I suggest that “interim” is a better adjective than “permanent.”

John L. Coakley Jr.
Kansas City

Education and young people are important to me and many others. It’s difficult to observe the abuse of both in the Kansas City School District. With national attention, it approaches incredibility.

Would someone ask that district how much time has been spent with the “guidance” of an interim superintendent over the last 10 years?

Also, after interim Superintendent John Martin’s retirement, does the district incur any financial obligation to him? If so, does that contribute to the current financial benefits he receives?

Michael Leap
Blue Springs

Schools’ effect on home sales

Yael Abouhalkah (9/25, Opinion, “Some good news as KCMO district slims down”) states “some real estate agents for years have quietly used (the Kansas City School District’s) problems to steer newcomers away from Kansas City.”

As a Realtor I will tell you that the poor reputation of the Kansas City School District is nationally known, as is the excellent reputation of Blue Valley, Shawnee Mission and Lee’s Summit school districts. Any buyer with a family moving to the area will ask friends, family, and co-workers about local school districts as they consider various home possibilities in the metro area. Internet research is also a key tool.

An ethical, professional and reputable real estate agent will not “steer” a buyer from Kansas City because of the school district. The reputation of the school, test scores, neighborhood, facilities and the actions of the school board will attract — or discourage — the buyer.

Mary Hutchison
Kansas City

Safety, schools matter most

The Star wrote, “Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser announced Tuesday that he would ask the City Council to create a task force focused on reviving economically distressed neighborhoods” (9/3, Local).

Let me save the task force six months of effort. The distressed neighborhoods will start reviving when they are safe and provide good schools. No sooner.

Anything else is a waste of time and money.

George J. McLiney Jr.
Kansas City