Month: April 2021

New superintendent could be named Friday

Update: Change to agenda announced. See end of story.

The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Education is expected to vote on a contract for a new superintendent on Friday, April 23.

A special board meeting will be held at 3 p.m. Friday online, and is expected to be live-streamed on the district’s YouTube channel. The board room currently isn’t open to the public because of COVID-19 safety precautions.

Edwin Birch, a spokesman for the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools, did not release the name of the superintendent candidate on Thursday when asked.

While there were some reports made earlier at board meetings on the superintendent search, there wasn’t any report on it made during the past few school board meetings.

The agenda for the Friday meeting did not contain the name of the superintendent candidate.

When asked why nothing has been heard publicly about the superintendent selection for the past few meetings, Birch said the year was different because of COVID-19.

There was hesitation about holding large gatherings this year because of the pandemic, he said. Birch said there had been community input early with four virtual town hall meetings and an online survey where residents were asked what characteristics they would like to see in a superintendent.

In 2018, prior to the selection of Dr. Charles Foust as superintendent, there were board meetings where the public was invited to meet the finalists for superintendent.

Dr. Alicia Miguel was named interim superintendent of the school district in August 2020 when Dr. Foust accepted another position.

JG Consulting of Austin, Texas, was the search firm.

At a school board meeting on Feb. 23, the school board president said the search firm was affected by the extremely cold temperatures and power outages in Texas. The president reported at that meeting they had 21 completed applications from 11 different states.

The school board received a letter from Rachel Russell that was read at the April 13 board meeting. It said in part that she was disappointed at the lack of the opportunity for the community to engage with the two finalists. She felt that transparency and communication was lacking. The April 13 meeting is online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1YTmWAsAzg.

The agenda for the 3 p.m. April 23 board meeting has been changed to include a budget priority discussion from 3 to 4 p.m., followed by the superintendent selection scheduled around 4:25 p.m.

KC women’s soccer team reaches draw with Chicago

Next Challenge Cup match to be Monday in KCK

Kansas City NWSL earned its first point of the 2021 Challenge Cup season with a 1-1 draw against the Chicago Red Stars on Wednesday in Chicago.

A defensive battle for most of the night, both teams were able to find the back of the net in the final 10 minutes to end the night tied up at 1-1.

Earlier in the week, head coach Huw Williams talked with media about the strong Chicago midfield, and they proved to be a problem throughout the first half. Kansas City continuously found themselves facing an attack from the Red Stars. Goalkeeper Abby Smith stood strong as she and her defense turned away several attacks and five first-half corner kicks.

At halftime Williams adjusted his team’s focus to bring his attackers inside and try to drive the offense through the middle of the field. The adjustments allowed Kansas City to control possession through the first 15 minutes of the second half. KC added six shots in the second half.

The stalemate was finally broken in the 80th minute. Smith punted the ball from her penalty box two-thirds of the way down the field. When she noticed some confusion between the Chicago defense and their goalkeeper, forward Amy Rodriguez jumped on the bouncing ball and slotted it into the back of the net.

Chicago answered only two minutes later as Katie Johnson converted on a pass from Arin Wright in the 82nd minute.

Both teams pushed towards goal in the final minutes, but neither side could find a goal. The draw earns Kansas City a point in the Challenge Cup tournament, its first in team history.

Kansas City returns home and turns its focus on the Houston Dash, who they are playing host to on Monday, April 26, at home at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on Paramount+.

Kansas governor vetoes ban on transgender athletes in female sports and braces for override fight

Conservatives contend transgender athletes bring unfair advantages to girls’ and women’s sports. The governor says the law would cost the state business — and set up transgender people for more harassment.

by Stephen Koranda, Kansas News Service

Topeka, Kansas — Arguing a ban on transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports invites bullying, Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a bill that mirrored Republican efforts across the country that would have states policing high school and college sports.

“We should be focused on how to include all students in extracurricular activities rather than how to exclude those who may be different than us,” the governor’s office said in a statement. “Kansas is an inclusive state and our laws should reflect our values. This (bill) does not do that.”

And the Democratic governor repeated her argument that Kansas could lose business by putting the ban into law. The NCAA and other sports organizations have increasingly moved to avoid states seen as hostile to gay and transgender people.

A few weeks earlier, she called the bill a “job killer.”

Her veto sets the stage for a clash with the governor and Republicans who dominate the Legislature over an emerging issue that’s become prominent in culture wars across the country.

Republicans argue that people assigned as male at birth would bring unfair physical advantages if they played in female athletics. They’ve labeled the bill the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.

Democrats say there’s no evidence that transgender athletes would damage female sports. Instead, they say the bill makes transgender athletes targets for more harassment and discrimination.

The bill passed with a strong margin in both the Kansas House and Senate, although not with the votes it would need to override Kelly’s rejection. Yet it enjoys the support of the conservatives who control leadership across the Legislature and has a reasonable chance to pick up the two-thirds it needs in each chamber to nullify the governor’s veto and become law.

The proposed law, Senate President Ty Masterson and Sen. Renee Erickson said in a statement on Thursday, “ensures fairness.”

“It’s not about anything other than that, and no state should allow itself to be intimidated by big corporations or the NCAA,” their statement said.

In a signal that the override fight was brewing, the two said: “We will continue to fight for fairness in women’s sports until this bill becomes law.

During a visit to Wichita last week, Kelly said adopting the bill into law invites a costly blowback from businesses.

“Companies are making it very clear,” she said at the time, “that they are not interested in this kind of regressive legislation that discriminates against anybody.”

The bill would ban transgender girls and women — those who were assigned at birth as boys but come to identify themselves as female — from female sports teams in public schools and universities.

Last week, the NCAA’s board of governors issued a statement supporting transgender athletes and said the organization only selects locations for major events that are “safe, healthy and free of discrimination.”

“We will continue to closely monitor these situations to determine whether NCAA championships can be conducted in ways that are welcoming and respectful of all participants,” the group said. The organization has made efforts in recent years to be more inclusive of transgender college students.

More than half the legislatures in the country have passed similar bans.

Wichita is already scheduled to hold NCAA basketball championship events in 2022 and 2025. Critics of the bill say Kansas could lose those events to other states if the ban took effect.

Stephen Koranda is the Statehouse reporter and news editor for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter @Stephen_Koranda.

The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.

See more at https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-04-22/kansas-bill-banning-transgender-athletes-in-female-sports-vetoed-and-an-override-fight-brews.