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Parents and early‑childhood staff urge more supports; resident requests district credit‑card records
Summary
During the public‑comment portion of the Jan. 28 board meeting several early‑childhood teachers described staffing shortages, high caseloads and the need for more parent supports; a resident asked the board to release three years of p‑card (procurement card) records following alleged discrepancies.
Multiple speakers used the community‑comment period at the Jan. 28 Kansas City, Kansas Board of Education meeting to call for more resources and clearer parent supports for early childhood programs and to raise concerns about district procurement card use.
Scott Harding, a resident of Wyandotte County who identified himself with a local property‑tax protest group, asked the board to release records for the last three years of district p‑cards (procurement cards), saying citizens had found perceived discrepancies and some personal charges. Harding asked each board member whether such charges were acceptable and requested a public accounting of card activity.
Several early‑childhood educators asked the board for more investment in staffing and family supports. Avery Jackson (also known in the district as Avery Gomez), a Head Start teacher who said she is a third‑generation educator in KCKPS, described early‑childhood staff feeling ‘‘treated as less than’’ compared with K‑12 colleagues and urged the district to visit early‑childhood classrooms and invest in the programs.
Callie Baker, an early‑childhood special‑education teacher, said the district’s four early‑childhood sites and three elementary schools serve more than 1,000 early‑childhood students and that teachers manage complex lesson plans while also providing intensive caregiving (including frequent diaper changes). She called for consistent staffing, more planning time, and lower adult‑to‑child ratios so teachers can execute classroom plans and keep students safe.
Heather Turry, principal at KCK Early Childhood Center, said KCKECC serves nearly 600 students at that site alone and highlighted family‑support services such as social‑worker follow‑up, furniture and housing assistance achieved through partnerships. Turry invited board members to visit classrooms so they could see that early‑childhood services deliver rapid gains for children and families.
Board staff said leadership will follow up with speakers after the meeting to address requested information and next steps. The board did not take immediate action on the p‑card request during the public‑comment period; staff acknowledged the p‑card question and said they would have staff follow up with a full update.
