Mayor releases recommendations to State Education Commissioner

December 1, 2011 - KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
Preliminary plan to reconstruct the governance structure seeks public input
(KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI) — Today, Mayor Sly James sent the recommendations of a group he convened to examine the future structure of the Kansas City School District to Missouri’s Commissioner of Education, Chris Nicastro. The document and its recommendation represent nearly a month of meetings with stakeholders including parents, teachers union representatives, legislators, education experts, community and business leaders, superintendents from surrounding school districts, and  other community touchstones.

“This is the summation of serious, concentrated and difficult discussions amongst a group whose sole focus was improving the education of the students of the Kansas City School District,” said Mayor James.

“The proposal is a starting point, not an ending point. It does, however, propose a bold and significant change that I, and others in the community, believe is necessary to serve the students and save the district. I, nor do any of the 30-plus community members who worked on this plan, take what is proposed lightly. I look forward to hearing the communities feedback,” said the Mayor.

The entire letter is now available to the public on the Mayor’s new website, which launched today: http://kcmayor.org/. Citizens are encouraged to leave comments and suggestions regarding the proposal.

Members of the committee that helped develop the recommendations will be available to the press this afternoon. The Mayor is out of town at a forum at Harvard’s Kennedy School in Boston, but has been in close contact with Commissioner Nicastro.

Media availability with members of the group convened by Mayor James will be in the Mayor’s Office today at City Hall beginning at 1:30 p.m.


Direct link to the document can be found here: kcmayor.org/?p=538
Contact: Danny Rotert: 816-513-6581 or cell: 816-547-6418