Category: Education

Today’s public meetings

School board Finance Committee to meet today

The Finance Committee of the Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Education will meet at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, at the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools Central Office and Training Center, 2010 N. 59th St., in the East Room.

Community Health, Recreation and Wellness Task Force Committee to meet Tuesday afternoon

A task force on community health, recreation and wellness will be conducted at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, by the Unified Government in the fifth floor conference room, Suite 515, at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas. The meeting will be on Zoom.

To watch the meeting, click on https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89174582148?pwd=Z2ZMRjNISUNjZGtKd1Bkd2xFOTFoUT09.

The meeting ID is 891 7458 2148.

The passcode is 208947.

More information is at https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Clerks-Office/Agendas-Minutes.

Charter ordinance subcommittee scheduled to meet today

The Unified Government Charter Ordinance Subcommittee is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, in a hybrid format. The meeting can be viewed in person on the fifth floor conference room at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas, or virtually via Zoom.

The Zoom meeting is at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84372898888?pwd=YzJxUVNhQ0lFNDlDK250WU9OS2RyQT09.

The meeting ID is 843 7289 8888. The passcode is 163819.

More information is at https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Clerks-Office/Agendas-Minutes.

County Administrator Selection Task Force meeting

The Unified Government’s County Administrator Selection Taskforce meeting is scheduled in person at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, in the sixth floor conference room at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St, Kansas City, Kansas. A meeting with GovHR search service is scheduled.

This meeting has been scheduled at the same time as the above Charter Ordinance Subcommittee meeting.

More information is at https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Clerks-Office/Agendas-Minutes.

Environmental Sustainability and Green Energy Task Force meeting scheduled Tuesday

The Environmental Sustainability and Green Energy Task Force will meet from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas, or via Zoom.

At the meeting, the public may hear sustainability initiatives used by area regional communities. Ways to improve sustainability in Wyandotte County may be discussed.

More information is at https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Clerks-Office/Agendas-Minutes.

Community learns of college plans for downtown campus, successful programs

Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

The hope is that construction will begin next spring on the downtown campus of Kansas City Kansas Community College. It will be a $62 million project. The college will cooperate with Community America Credit Union, the Kansas City, Kansas, School District and Swope Health.

That was the message that Dr. Greg Mosier brought to about 90 community leaders who attended the President’s Annual Breakfast at the college Thursday, Nov. 11, at the Paul Jewell building at the college.

The year 2023 will mark the college’s centennial anniversary.

This capital fund-raising effort is the second in the college’s history. Voters approved a bond issue to build the main campus that opened in the early 1970s.

The college has been successful in private sector fund-raising with a $10 million grant from the Sunderland Foundation. The state of Kansas has awarded $12 million toward the construction.

The campus will be located in the 600 block of State Avenue. Course offerings will include high-wage technical education programs plus classes in General Educational Diploma and English as a Second Language.

A highlight of the breakfast was testimonials from two students who received scholarships. The students were Elizabeth Daniels and Madalynn McInness.

Dr. Mosier cited achievements including 15 awards student musicians received from Downbeat magazine and the college’s softball team that made it to a national tournament and was seeded ninth.

The extension course in welding at the Lansing Corrections Facility has been successful in training inmates to help assure that they will have a skill when released.

A major improvement to the main campus is a dormitory called Centennial Hall. It can house 258 students in a state-of-the-art building.

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

KCKCC to hold m-pact Vocal Festival Concert Nov. 17

by Kelly Rogge, public information manager, KCKCC

Kansas City Kansas Community College will hold the m-pact Vocal Festival Concert at 7 p.m. Nov. 17 in the KCKCC Performing Arts Center. The concert will feature Los Angeles based pop-jazz vocal group m-pact as well as KCKCC’s “Blue Devil Funk Band.”

In person or virtual tickets for the concert are $15 and can be purchased from the festival’s website.

Described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “one of the best pop-jazz vocal groups in the world” m-pact is known for its sophisticated sound that has won the group Vocal Group of the Year at the L.A. Music Awards and an Indie nomination from the Independent Grammys.

The group has also been named Grand National Champs of the Harmony Sweepstakes competition and has performed with artists such as Boyz II Men, Sheryl Crow, the Woody Herman Orchestra, the Maynard Ferguson Big Band and Natalie Cole, among others. Their “signature sound” can also be heard in television theme songs as well as Disney feature films and on radio stations throughout the world.

Started in 1995, m-pact has made five full-length albums, three EP’s and several single releases and continues to receive rave reviews and multiple awards. Billboard Magazine named them the “Best Unsigned Band” and in 2014, the group joined with New York a cappella powerhouse Duwende to produce “I Wish for All Time,” an a cappella tribute to Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. m-pact continues to thrill audiences with their innovative orchestrations and stage presence as well as their vocals as they work to stay true to the music they are performing.