August 15 2024

1 Wichita School District Launches Khan Academy-linked Microschool
2 KCK Public Schools Advance $180 Million Bond for November 2024 and Plans $424 Million Bond for April 2025
3 Kansas Community Colleges Expect Strong Enrollment for Fall Semester
4 Sedgwick County Lifts Solar Moratorium, Adopts New Zoning Restrictions
5 Kansas Ranks No. 22 in Preseason AP Poll, Kansas State at No. 18 in a Competitive Big 12
Sports

1 Wichita School District Launches Khan Academy-linked Microschool

The Wichita school district is launching an experimental microschool in hopes of luring back some families that have left public schools. The new Creative Minds program features a one-room schoolhouse approach, with about 20 students from kindergarten through sixth grade learning from one teacher. It is housed at the for-profit Learning Lab space inside Union Station downtown — an education collaborative with ties to Wichita-based Koch Inc.

Rob Dickson, Wichita’s chief information officer, said Education Imagine Academy — the district’s online school — became hugely popular during and after the COVID pandemic. He said the virtual-school program — as well as a recent exodus of students from public schools — illustrates that families are looking for something different for their children.

Learning Lab opened last fall on the second floor of Union Station. Stand Together, a philanthropic organization founded by Koch Inc. CEO Charles Koch, partnered with California-based Khan Lab School to develop the collaborative. The Wichita site houses Khan Lab School Wichita, the first expansion of Sal Khan’s project outside of California, as well as Guiding Light Academy, a K-8 virtual school and microschool hybrid that partners with the Buhler school district
Wichita Eagle

More and more, parents are opting America’s children out of public school. The share of children ages 5 to 17 enrolled in public schools fell by almost 4 percentage points from 2012 to 2022, an NBC News analysis of Census Bureau data found, even as the overall population grew.
NBC

Article Source: Wichita Eagle, NBC

2 KCK Public Schools Advance $180 Million Bond for November 2024 and Plans $424 Million Bond for April 2025

With buildings in disrepair and estimated construction costs mounting, Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools officials are putting forward a $180 million bond issue to finance school rebuilds that voters may consider Nov. 5. The seven-member elected school board voted 6-0 Tuesday to advance a proposed investment in aging buildings that district leaders say is long overdue. In dollars and cents, the new proposal is less than half of the more ambitious plan that voters widely rejected during a single-issue special election three months ago. And district leaders say its passage would not increase the tax rate, a major sticking point during the last round.

In May, Kansas City, Kansans voted 58% to 42% to reject a larger bond issue that would have invested $420 million toward building five new schools along with millions in other expansions and maintenance needs. Roughly 8% of registered voters cast ballots. Proponents highlighted the needs around the district, where some students take daily classes in outdoor trailers, and climate control is a challenge in the older buildings. The proposal faced opposition from residents concerned with the effect the bond issue would have on property taxes.
KC Star

A complex Kansas City Public Schools building plan calls for repairing, renovating, building, merging, reopening and closing various schools. The school board won’t finalize the plan until November. Until then, members of the public can weigh in. To succeed, the plan requires voters to approve a $424 million bond in April 2025.

KCPS needs to persuade at least four out of every seven voters to approve a general obligation bond in April. The bond allows the district to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars, with the promise that it can raise taxes to pay back the debt. In many districts, bonds are a routine way to build and update schools. KCPS hasn’t convinced voters to pass a bond in nearly 60 years, though it did receive an influx of money in the 1980s and ‘90s as a result of court-ordered taxing and spending related to a desegregation case. Some of its newer schools were built in that time period. The lack of a bond has left the district behind on repairs and upgrades. KCPS says it needs $1.25 billion — about $650 million to fix basic maintenance problems and another $600 million for upgrades. It’s seeking about half of that amount over the next 10 years. 

Overall, KCPS wants to raise $680 million for its 10-year building plan. 
Beacon

Article Source: KC Star, Beacon

3 Kansas Community Colleges Expect Strong Enrollment for Fall Semester

Some of the state’s community colleges expect a strong fall semester with enrollment up and dorms full or near capacity. It comes after years of declining enrollment and a slower recovery from COVID-19. Overall, fall 2023 saw some improvements, with state headcount data showing the 19 community colleges saw a one percent increase year over year but still down 13 percent over five years. Community colleges in Kansas started to see notable increases in headcount and credit hours this summer, and that’s carrying over into this fall.

Article Source: KWCH

4 Sedgwick County Lifts Solar Moratorium, Adopts New Zoning Restrictions

The 11-month moratorium on industrial-scale solar energy production in Sedgwick County has been lifted. But anyone interested in developing a solar project will have to thread the needle of stringent new zoning restrictions. On Wednesday, the County Commission adopted a comprehensive zoning proposal based largely on recommendations from the Berkley Group, a Virginia-based consulting firm hired by the county after commissioners chose not to adopt the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission’s less-restrictive initial proposal.

The adoption of the new restrictions automatically disqualifies the only Sedgwick County solar project that has been pitched to date, the proposed 750-acre Chisholm Trail Solar Energy Center between Maize and Colwich that Invenergy introduced in 2019. Developers cannot seek a conditional use permit for the Chisholm Trail project because the land they’ve signed leasing agreements to occupy sits within urban growth areas for Maize and Colwich. Mayors of both cities spoke at Wednesday’s meeting in favor of prohibiting solar developments within growth areas.

Article Source: Wichita Eagle

5 Kansas Ranks No. 22 in Preseason AP Poll, Kansas State at No. 18 in a Competitive Big 12

Kansas is ranked No. 22 in the preseason AP college football poll, fifth among a strong Big 12 contingent. Kansas State comes in at No. 18, while Oklahoma State is ranked No. 17 and Utah leads the group at No. 12. Texas and Oklahoma, ranked No. 4 and No. 16 respectively, are both preparing to leave the Big 12. Missouri, a familiar rival, is ranked No. 11, while Iowa State and West Virginia are just outside the top 25, receiving notable votes.

Source: AP

Sports

The Kansas City Royals defeated the Minnesota Twins 4-1 in Minneapolis, improving their record to 66-55. The Royals remain 3rd in the AL Central, now 6 games behind the first-place Cleveland Guardians. Up next, Kansas City starts a new series at home against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday.

Sources

1. https://www.kansas.com/news/local/education/article291055575.html; https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/public-school-enrollment-us-states-map-chart-rcna119262

2. https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/education/article291085490.html; https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2024/08/14/kcps-424-million-bond-proposal-would-close-open-and-move-schools-and-increase-your-taxes/

3. https://www.kwch.com/2024/08/14/kansass-community-college-campuses-preparing-busy-fall-semester/

4. https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article291054370.html

5. https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll?utm_source=www.kuhearings.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=quick-hearings-new-stadium&_bhlid=fa50fc6e7fdd6c07b27ed7841a7db5d23ff29d9