Teachers and special-education staff urge district action after KU audits, cite staffing and service gaps

At the May 27 Kansas City, Kansas Board of Education meeting, several special-education teachers and union representatives used the public-comment period to press district leaders for clearer, enforceable fixes after two University of Kansas audits highlighted problems in the special-education cooperative.

"Things only seem to get worse every day for my school community," said Kira Martini, a speech-language pathologist with Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools, describing unsustainable workloads and the departure of building administrators she said protected students and staff. "My team has weathered the storm for the last few years because of our collective strength," Martini added, saying long-serving administrators are leaving "citing retaliatory and compromising situations inspired by administrators in our sped cooperative."

The push from staff came in a series of three-minute public comments that referenced the audits and gave specific examples: missed services for students needing speech and deaf/hard-of-hearing supports, the introduction of virtual case managers that teachers say increased their on-site workload, and inconsistent department communication. "You cannot replace in-person support with a screen and expect the same connection, consistency or results," said Adrienne Miller, a special-education teacher who said students had gone without services "for multiple weeks and months" because of staffing gaps.

Kristen Shuck, vice president of NEA KCK and co-chair of the district special-education advisory group, told the board the advisory group has produced practical steps—streamlining change-of-placement, establishing caseload thresholds and clarifying specialized-program definitions—but that progress remains incomplete. "Our feedback, along with the results of the two KU audits, continues to be minimized," Shuck said. She described professional-development successes the advisory group helped arrange but said communication and follow-through remain problems.

Tamara Miller, a gifted-education teacher at Sumner Academy, urged the board to require a concrete, published plan with measurable steps and regular public reporting. "What changes does SPED need to make? How will you know if they've been made? And what are you going to do if they are not made?" she asked.

Board members and district staff acknowledged receipt of the concerns and said administrators would follow up. The board clerk invited speakers to submit written copies of their remarks for circulation to the full board and said district staff would contact commenters for follow-up. No formal action was taken during the public-comment period.

The comments combined staff accounts of operational problems (missed sessions, virtual-provider rollout, caseloads), personnel concerns (loss of two long-serving building administrators), and policy requests (transparent selection for advisory groups, published meeting records, and a tracked plan of corrective actions). Speakers repeatedly asked for measurable timelines and assurances about staffing levels and accountability.

District officials present did not dispute the existence of the audits; they told the board they would provide more information and follow-up reports. Commenters asked the board to ensure that any fixes include improved communication to teachers and families, clearer caseload standards, and better staffing metrics ahead of the next school year.

For now, the board accepted the public comments as part of the meeting record and asked staff to follow up with the speakers; members requested that written copies and any additional documentation be submitted to the board clerk to inform future agenda items.