The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Education voted Tuesday night to accept the NFL’s $250,000 grant to build a turf athletic field in the district.
In another vote on Tuesday night, the school board voted not to change its mask rule, which requires students, staff and all those in the district to wear masks.
There was some opposition to accepting the NFL grant. Board member Wanda Brownlee Paige said the grant was done by a former employee who did not have board authorization at the time, and that the school district did not own the property it was on, at Eisenhower park.
Dr. Anna Stubblefield, superintendent, said this vote meant only that the district wants to accept the grant and is exploring where the field may go. The district was looking at an artificial turf field at Carl Bruce Middle School or for Sumner Academy.
Dr. Stubblefield said if the board decided later not to move forward, it still could decline at that time. Grant partners are allowed to explore other property for the athletic field, she said.
Paige said she didn’t want to vote for it, since she didn’t like how the situation developed. The district would end up spending much more than the $250,000 grant, she believes.
The amount required by the district to match the grant would be $550,000, according to district officials. For several years, the district has set aside money in the budget for a Sumner Academy field, and those funds are still available, according to the superintendent.
Board President Randy Lopez backed the idea of agreeing to accept the NFL grant at this time, as there was a deadline of Friday for the district to respond to the grant.
The vote was 4-2, with Paige and Dr. Valdenia Winn voting against the acceptance of the grant. Explaining her vote, Dr. Winn said as long as the board allows staff to commit taxpayers’ money without any review, there was no reason to have a board.
In other action, Lopez made a motion to make the school district “mask-optional” beginning Wednesday, but the motion did not pass. The vote was 4-2, with Lopez and Yolanda Clark voting yes.
There was no recommendation from the school district’s nursing staff, and Paige said she would have liked to have had a recommendation from the staff.
Dr. Stubblefield said that an appearance by the health staff wasn’t necessary since none of the information had changed since the last time the district discussed the topic, a few weeks ago. Wyandotte County is still ranked high on the CDC’s risk list for COVID, and the district’s mask policy is tied to the CDC’s guidelines.
Board member Rachel Russell said at the meeting that something was “fishy” and she was very taken aback that those who work in the front lines on health services did not have input on this decision.
Later in the meeting, Lopez said he would defend his integrity, stand up for himself, and that he would never do anything to undermine integrity because that is what he holds high.
Several other topics were discussed at Tuesday’s meeting. To view the six-hour KCK school board meeting on YouTube, visit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIWtV2CQ2NE.