Representative Melissa Orpiza told the Kansas City, Kansas Board of Public Education on Aug. 12 that residents near John Fisk and Morris Early Childhood Center are worried about a proposed Covanta/ReWorld chemical-recycling facility and related truck traffic.

“I'm in strong objection,” Representative Orpiza said, urging the district and community to organize against the permit application while she cited county health rankings and past complaints about the company’s operations in other states.

Board members heard two additional public comments and a public-health presentation from RISE for Environmental Health. Speakers described immediate hazards such as fires or spills, and chronic risks linked to toxic emissions; Beto Lugo Martinez, RISE’s policy and research director, told the board that the project could generate “1,226 trips a day” and said that trucking and rail traffic would add hazardous air pollutants and noise.

Why it matters: Commenters argued the proposed facility would concentrate environmental and traffic risks in Armadale, a neighborhood where many elementary-age children walk to school. Board members flagged school-safety concerns and asked staff to gather more data before the commission revisits the request.

What happened in the meeting: Representative Orpiza said the planning and zoning commission had tabled the special-permit request for 30 days after a meeting the night before. Carmen Orpiza, a neighborhood resident, described gaps in marked crosswalks and the lack of crossing guards on Kansas and Osage avenues and said Covanta’s projected 30 additional trucks would coincide with student arrival and dismissal times. Beto Lugo Martinez summarized public-health analyses of chemical-recycling plants, saying acute events (fires, spills) and long-term exposures are documented risks.

Board response and next steps: Board Member Rachel Russell asked staff to assemble additional information — including counts of students who walk to school in Armadale, historical incidents of local industrial fires or releases, and an assessment of signage and crossing-guard needs — and suggested inviting the same three community speakers back for a longer, detailed presentation. Superintendent Anna Stubblefield said the district will coordinate the data collection and confirmed a deadline for additional questions; board members agreed to request follow-up information by the end of the week and to consider a presentation at the Aug. 26 meeting or the meeting after Labor Day.

Discussion vs. decision: No board action was taken to support or oppose the company’s permit. The planning and zoning commission’s tabling of the permit is an external decision; the board directed staff to gather local data and return with more information for discussion.

Community context and clarifying details: Speakers emphasized that many Armadale students walk to John Fisk and Morris Early Childhood Center, there are limited painted crosswalks and no crossing guards at several intersections, and the neighborhood already experiences heavy truck traffic. Commenters referenced a 2022 local “truck hunt” that counted 415 commercial trucks on Kansas Avenue and said the new facility would substantially increase trips. Representative Orpiza cited Wyandotte County’s low statewide health ranking and asked the district to help residents evaluate the permit’s public-health effects.

Ending: The board did not take a vote on the matter. It instructed district staff to compile baseline data on student walkers, traffic counts, recent industrial incidents, and existing crossing infrastructure and to coordinate with community presenters on a potential follow-up to occur before the planning commission’s next action on the permit.