Kansas City Public Schools secure nearly 85% of votes for first bond in decades

Yahoo

09-04-2025

Kansas City voters overwhelmingly approved a $474 million bond for Kansas City Public Schools on Tuesday, according to unofficial results from the Kansas City Board of Elections.
Nearly 85% of voters, 18,870 out of 22,226 total, opted for a tax increase to help pay for an array of long-waiting improvements to city schools. The district needed to win 57.1% of votes for the bond to pass.
The bond measure, which was the first proposed for the district since 1967, will allocate funding to more than 40 schools throughout KCPS. It will also allocate a total of $50 million to nine charter schools in the Kansas City area.
'This is a monumental day for our children and our community!' said Superintendent Jennifer Collier in a statement Tuesday night. 'This bond will allow us to move beyond temporary fixes and invest in sustainable improvements for our facilities.'
Before Tuesday, KCPS was the only school district in the Kansas City region to operate without bond funding, according to the district.
Every school in the district will receive at least $5 million from the bond, with a focus on building security and safety, play areas, STEM and music spaces and athletic facilities. KCPS also plans to construct several entirely new buildings, opening new schools to serve students and families as enrollment rises after decades of decline.
The bond aims to address a $1 billion deficit of deferred maintenance and renovation projects, according to the district. The approved funding will go in part to heating and cooling needs, electrical and plumbing repairs, as well as toward fixing broken bathrooms, windows, roofs and emergency safety equipment.
A portion of the bond funds will go to creating two $68 million 'empowerment centers,' which will each include a pre-K center, an elementary school and a resource center for families. One at the site of King Elementary and another at the site of the Woodland Early Learning Center.
The King campus project was set to occur regardless of the results of Tuesday's bond election, relying instead on a $100 million certificate of participation bond passed by the school board last month without the need for voter approval. Special education students from Wheatley Elementary with unique medical needs would also be moved to the campus, which would include a maker space, a media center and a playground.
At the Woodland site, a new elementary school will also be built, with similar early childhood and family empowerment wings as well as a Global Academy section catered toward international students.
Another primary goal of the bond is to open a third middle school at the former site of Southwest High School, 6512 Wornall Road. The project, which will enable KCPS to transition entirely to a middle school model for sixth through eighth graders, earmarks $45.1 million in bond money but will need additional funding sources.
In a note to KCPS families and voters shared on the district's website ahead of Election Day, Collier described the proposed bond as a strong step toward 'meeting modern educational needs.'
'This proposal reflects KCPS's commitment to creating equitable, safe, and high-quality learning spaces for all students while aligning with the district's long–term strategic Blueprint 2030 plan,' Collier wrote.
KCPS regained full accreditation in 2022 after losing accredited status in 2011 and regaining provisional accreditation in 2014. The bond proposal reflected several of the key goals the district laid out after it reached that milestone.
'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,' Collier said in her statement Tuesday night.