Month: August 2015

The Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools Board of Education is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Aug. 11 at the Central Office, 2010 N. 59th St., Kansas City, Kan.

The Aug. 11 meeting will include a budget hearing.

The school district stated that it has received less state funds for 2015-2016 fiscal year because the supplemental general fund and capital outlay have been cut. However, on the budget form it may appear the general fund allocation is larger, when it is not, according to the district. There were budget reporting requirements that were changed by the Kansas Legislature this year, and the budget form does not compare the same information for different years, according to the district.

The Legislature changed from per-pupil allocations this year, and decided instead to base the allocation on how much funding districts received last year. However, the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools is anticipating 500 new students.

The 2015-2016 budget shows total expenditures of $351.6 million for 2015-2016; the proposed total property tax rate is 49.165 mills.

Budget information is online at http://www.boarddocs.com/ks/kckps/Board.nsf/vpublic?open and at http://www.boarddocs.com/ks/kckps/Board.nsf/files/9Z9V497E9720/$file/Budget%20at%20a%20Glance%202015-16.pdf.

An agenda is posted on the district’s website, www.kckps.org.

by Rebecca Tombaugh

The cost of the USD 500 Convocation this year was approximately $6,000, say school officials.

Last Wednesday, around 3,500 school staff attended a two-hour convocation at Memorial Hall that included a host of alumni, local and state officials, music and songs. Business leaders were given awards for their financial contributions. In addition, many teachers and staff were recognized for their students’ academic achievements.

The Wyandotte Daily Online on the weekend published a story about the event, and linked it to the paper’s FaceBook page.

“What did that cost?” a reader posted.

The Wyandotte Daily Online asked the same question to school officials. Tammy Dodderidge, communications manager, responded:

“The Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools has established a rich tradition of bringing staff together at the beginning of each school year to celebrate, motivate each other and kick off the school year as a team. Convocation is the one and only time during the year when the entire staff of KCKPS is together in one room. The cost to host Convocation is kept at a minimum, each year. Approximately $6,000 was spent this year on the event.”