The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Education considered a corrections cadet program and named Facility Committee members at its Dec. 6 meeting.
The corrections cadet program would be an agreement with the Unified Government, according to Dr. Danira Fernandez-Flores, the district’s director of Diploma Plus. No action was taken at the Tuesday meeting on the program.
Students would work and train in the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department, being paid $15 an hour under the program, according to Dr. Fernandez-Flores.
They would be seniors in high school and there would be no specific grade point average required of them, she said. The students would be on track to graduate, with credits ready to go, be able to pass a written test, physical test and an interview with the sheriff, she said.
The district is letting students know who have corrections and ROTC pathways through their facilitators, she said. If students are not already in that pathway, they could still apply if they express an interest in law enforcement, she said.
The district has reached out to students interested in law enforcement who left their names at a district college employment fair. Interested students may contact the facilitators at their schools, she said.
Currently the limit is 10 students per semester, Dr. Fernandez-Flores said.
Students in the program would wear uniforms, according to the plan. Some school board members were concerned about whether the students would be allowed to have dreadlocks and facial hair.
Board member Rachel Russell questioned a 95 percent attendance rate required, almost perfect attendance. Dr. Fernandez-Flores said she would get more information on the questions. The program would come back to a later board meeting for further discussion.
School district Facility Committee forming
The district Facility Committee named its members at the Dec. 6 board meeting.
Rachel Russell, chair of the committee, said there has been some discussion about making sure different geographic areas and groups in the school district are included in the committee. She also wanted to make sure Latinx, Latino, Hispanic and YouthVoice individuals were represented. The school district’s attorney cautioned not to place any formal restrictions on these positions, to avoid excluding other groups. None of the positions should be held open for a specific group.
The board approved six individuals for the committee, and there are another three board members serving on it.
Russell plans to add four more positions to the committee, to be considered at the next meeting.
The committee may eventually reach 14 or 15 members, she said.
Board President Randy Lopez said that around 50 percent of the district is Latino, and to not have any Latino representation on this committee would not be good.
The Facility Committee will be interviewing firms that will develop a facility master plan for the school district. The committee will make a recommendation to the board on the firm to select, and the board will select the firm, according to district officials. Interviews are being conducted Dec. 14.
Facility Committee community members and the board members who nominated them, according to a school district spokesman, include:
• Alan Howze, Unified Government assistant county administrator or designated UG parks and recreation representative, recommended by Rachel Russell;
• Nicole Douglas-Price, recommended by Yolanda Clark;
• Rita Walker, recommended by Dr. Valdenia Winn;
• Fred Tresvan, recommended by Wanda Brownlee Paige;
• Preston Portley, recommended by Janey Humphries;
• Sally Murguia, recommended by Randy Lopez.
Also on the Facility Committee are three board members:
• Rachel Russell, chair of the Facility Committee;
• Dr. Valdenia Winn, board representative;
• Janey Humprhies, board representative.