Kansas City voters invest in future, pass $474 million bond to upgrade schools

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Voters throw support behind a massive $474 million general obligation bond issue that will pay to overhaul schools while promoting education and safety across Kansas City, Mo.

Here’s a look at the unofficial race results:

• Yes: 18,870
• No: 3,356

Before the April 8 election, supporters said the bond would benefit every child in the district.

The district said the average building in the district is 60 years old and many need urgent repairs.

Administrators aren’t taking much time before getting to work. According to KCPS Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Collier, one of the first projects for the district will be breaking ground on is the new King Elementary Empowerment Center.

Dr. Collier said every school will receive at least $5 million, and it will take five to seven years to complete renovations across the district.

“We are building a world-class city, and we cannot do that by leaving the school district behind,” Dr. Collier said. “We have to bring our children along with us because they are the future; they are our next leaders. The health of any community will always be measured by how well we take care of its children, so Kansas City said last night ‘we believe’ and ‘we are going to take care of our children.’”

The last school bond passed in 1967. A district spokesperson said that since it’s been so long, the district now faces $1.2 billion in deferred maintenance. The bond issue will cover about half of those costs.

KCTV5 Investigates found that a homeowner with a property valued at $200,000 would pay $0.64 a day in increased taxes, or $19.21 a month, according to the school district.

A commercial property at the same $200,000 value would pay almost $400 a year more in taxes, the district said.

For a breakdown of improvements for each KCPS building, click here.

Learn more about the project overall here.

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