Did anyone have the Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) bond proposal winning in an absolute landslide on their bingo card? In a huge victory for KCPS and children in the urban core, voters approved the bond by a whopping 84.9% to 15.1% on April 8th, 2025. Nearly 19,000 voters came out to support the first successful bond for KCPS since 1967.
The project marks a new chapter for the once-beleaguered school district, which has managed to string together serious upward momentum in recent years despite serious headwinds.The bond approval will mean improved schools, tons of union construction, and better conditions for teachers and staff with AFT Local 691 and SEIU Local 1.
Significant prevailing wage construction work is slated to come out of the successful bond, with every single school slated to receive improvements. Union construction workers will be able to build vital infrastructure that leaves kids in the urban core in a better position longterm. Rebuilding the urban core’s tax base in particular requires more families who are comfortable sending their kids to public school. Of particular importance for upgrades: roofing and HVAC work.
“For the first time in 58 years, we have secured the funding needed to address our schools’ critical needs. This bond will allow us to move beyond temporary fixes and invest in sustainable improvements for our facilities. It’s time to match our actions with our words and invest in our children’s present and future,” said Dr. Jennifer Collier, Superintendent of Kansas City Public Schools. “We extend our deepest gratitude to the voters of Kansas City for sending a clear message: Our children and their schools are important, and we will not leave them behind. This victory is a testament to the hard work and dedication of many individuals and organizations who worked tirelessly to inform and engage our community.”
Every single KCPS school will receive bond funds to address its most critical facility needs. Project recommendations for each school were identified based on facility studies and stakeholder feedback. KCPS has prioritized addressing:
- Deferred Maintenance: life safety, HVAC, electrical, roofs, windows, bathroom, plumbing;
- Improved Learning Environment/ Classrooms: collaboration spaces, STEAM labs, instrumental music spaces, gym and athletic facilities, outdoor classrooms/outdoor play areas, secure entry points; and
- Transition to 6-8th grade middle schools
- “This bond will enable us to make significant improvements to our schools, including classroom renovations, heating and cooling system upgrades, enhanced safety and security features, and much-needed restroom repairs. We are excited to begin these projects and to create modern learning spaces that our students, staff, and families can be proud of,” added Dr. Collier. “In the coming months, you will see these projects come to life, starting with the King Empowerment Center, which will serve as a pre-K center, elementary school, and family resource center. This is just the beginning of our journey to provide the best educational environment for our children.”
The district plans to break ground on the King Empowerment Campus on April 23, 2025. The campus will include three buildings:
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School
- Early Childhood Center
- Family Empowerment Center
Many of the projects that KCPS plans to take on center around making the best use of the resources available to it. Using those resources to their full efficiency longterm required an infusion of funds to do a variety of measures, including: right sizing, relocating, reopening, expanding, reorganizing, and building new schools to better meet the needs of the students.
One such project? Opening a 3rd middle school at the former Southwest High building, located at 6512 Wornall Rd, that allows for KCPS to transition to 6-8th grade neighborhood middle schools. The project, which includes major renovations to building systems and classrooms/learning environments and an addition that replaces inefficient previous additions, is $45.1 million, but puts the district in a better position long term.
Some projects, like Primitivo Garcia Elementary School, are smaller in scope, but still would have placed a financial burden on the district. Garcia will receive renovations to classrooms, HVAC, windows, and bathrooms/ plumbing upgrades.
Change will come with this new bond, but ultimately will leave Kansas City, MO in a better position long term.
Nine charter schools will also receive funds for built environment improvements, but local construction unions have been assured that the work will be prevailing wage work. Charter schools, which do not have unionized staff, frequently hire non-union construction workers that drag down the wages and standards of work for the area.
Tristin Amezcua-Hogan is the Editor of The Labor Beacon and a member of LIUNA Local 264. Tristin also serves as the Director of Communications for the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO and the Chair of the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance.
Tristin grew up as the son of a UA Local 669 member in Tecumseh, KS and the great-nephew of George C. Amis, longtime leader of the United Rubberworkers (now USW Local 307) in Kansas. Growing up in rural Kansas as the child of teen parents, Tristin quickly came to appreciate the life-changing benefit of a union job.
Tristin and his partner, Rebeca Amezcua-Hogan, are residents of the Westside, Kansas City, MO's historic Mexican neighborhood. They are proud members of Kansas City's New Reform Temple.
