Month: March 2021

Opponents, proponents discuss public funding of private schools

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Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

It was an interesting discussion about public money being used by private schools when the Legislative Committee met Friday morning, March 12 via Zoom. The committee is a function of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Alicia Miguel, the Kansas City, Kansas, School District superintendent, expressed her opposition to two bills in the Kansas Legislature – Senate Bill 61 and House Bill 2119.

The House bill would allow educational savings accounts for private schools. Dr. Miguel said that is just another name for vouchers. She said this legislation that would take money away from public schools should be of concern for the general public and businesses. She said that there is concern that if public money goes to religious schools, there is an issue of separation of church and state.

Libby Knox, who is director of development for the Catholic Education Foundation, had opposing views. She spoke in favor of Senate Bill 61. She said the legislation would expand the areas in which tax credits could be used. She said presently there are needy persons who are excluded. She said the program exists according to narrow guidelines established by the courts.


Knox said she was not speaking in favor of House Bill 2119. She said the needy persons helped by the program have a 99 percent high school graduation rate.

Edwin Birch, the executive director for communication and marketing for the Kansas City, Kansas, School District, said he worked for the Kansas City (Missouri) School District, and saw charter schools take away substantial funds from the public school system. Birch also worked as public information officer for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.

Stephen Linkous, the chief of staff for the Kansas City, Kansas, School District, said he comes from Denver where charter schools diluted funds for public schools.

There was discussion about Senate Bill 50 which, passed out of the Senate 35-3; it would help assure sales tax is collected on internet sales.

Also discussed was the legislation that would affect STAR bonds; The minimum for a STAR bond financing project would be $75 million; Mike Taylor, the lobbyist for the Unified Government, said that a $50 million minimum would be more practical. A STAR bond project uses the money that would normally be collected from sales tax to pay for infrastructure such as streets and sewers.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is executive director of Business West.

Viaduct reopening celebrated by officials

Mayor David Alvey spoke at a Lewis and Clark Viaduct reopening event on Monday at Kaw Point Park in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo from KDOT video)
Gov. Laura Kelly said the $65 million viaduct reconstruction has been more than 10 years in the making. U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids and Kansas Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz are in the background. (Photo from KDOT video)
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd, who is on the House infrastructure committee, said the bridge project also was a way to help the economy recover from the pandemic. (Photo from KDOT video)

The reopening of the Lewis and Clark Viaduct on I-70 was celebrated on Monday morning by Gov. Laura Kelly, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., and Mayor David Alvey. The bridge reopened Jan. 23.

“This has been a long journey to get this completed,” Mayor Alvey said in remarks at the event held at Kaw Point Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

They’ve known for more than a decade that significant work was needed on the viaduct, he said.

Work was underway when it was interrupted by significant flooding in the spring of 2019 along the Kansas and Missouri rivers, Alvey said. When the waters subsided they were able to get the work done.

Mayor Alvey, along with Gov. Kelly and Rep. Davids, mentioned the importance of maintaining infrastructure for future generations.

“We have a responsibility to the next generation of Wyandotte Countians and Kansans to take a hard look at our infrastructure needs and say we are dedicated to providing the necessary resources to invest in our future generations,” Mayor Alvey said.

“This is what good government looks like, when you get all levels of government, local, state and federal, coming together,” Gov. Kelly said. “This is what it’s supposed to be.”

The $65 million viaduct reconstruction project has been more than 10 years in the making and is one that is desperately needed, she said.

The 59-year-old viaduct had deteriorated significantly, she said. It cost more than $ 1 million dollars a year in maintenance, which was not sustainable, she said.

After a study was completed in 2012, engineering work on the project began shortly thereafter. The project was over a half-mile long, with 19 concrete piers restored or replaced, she said. Construction work on the project began in 2018 and originally was scheduled to be completed in two years, but the 2019 flood halted the project, she said.

It was a bit ironic that restoration was delayed by flooding, since this was the only bridge that remained open to traffic during the 1993 floods, she said.

More than 40,000 travel the viaduct, which connects Missouri and Kansas, each day to get to work, to deliver work materials, to get to school or to get to activities, according to the governor.

Rep. Davids, who serves on the House infrastructure committee, said the project will help keep people safe and keep the community connected.

It also is a way to help the economy continue to come back from the pandemic, she said.

Infrastructure bridges the past, present and future, said Julie Lorenz, Kansas secretary of transportation.

This improvement makes it safer to travel for the present and paves the way for future opportunity, she said.

The American Bridge Co. and Burns and McDonnell worked on the project.

To view the event, visit https://www.facebook.com/KSDOTHQ/videos/778059159490958.

Victim of fatal accident identified

The victim of a fatal accident in the 5900 block of Nogard Sunday has been identified, according to police.

The victim was identified as Cynthia M. Goulding, 59, a resident of Kansas City, Kansas, according to a police spokesman.

Goulding stopped to check on the driver of a sport utility vehicle that was involved in an accident around 3:04 a.m. Sunday, when the SUV was struck again by a pickup, killing her, according to police.

There were two crash incidents involving three vehicles and one fatality, police stated. An SUV traveling southbound on 59th and Nogard was struck by a sedan traveling north, police stated. The sedan came to rest about one block away, and the driver and occupants fled on foot, police said. Then the pickup truck struck the SUV.

The SUV’s driver was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. The driver of the pickup was taken into custody.

The incident is under investigation by the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department’s Traffic Division, the spokesman stated. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS.