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USD 232 board approves student-built public art agreement with City of De Soto
Summary
The USD 232 Board of Education voted unanimously to approve an agreement with the City of De Soto commissioning Mill Valley/CTEC students to design and build a public sculpture, funded by a $20,000 De Soto grant. Students will present final designs to the De Soto Arts Council before construction begins.
The USD 232 Board of Education on Wednesday approved an agreement with the City of De Soto that will commission students to design, engineer and construct a public sculpture to be displayed on city property.
The 7-0 vote authorizes a student-led team from the district’s CTEC/CAPS makerspace program to create a sculpture that the City of De Soto will host for an initial period in front of city hall, city-funded at $20,000. “This sculpture will be sitting actually in front of the city hall for, I would say, about a month or 2 before moving to another location,” student presenter Zachary Chang said during a board presentation.
Why it matters: The project is designed as a real-world learning opportunity linking career and technical education to public art and community partnerships. The board and district officials described the arrangement as similar to a previous student-built installation in Shawnee.
What the board heard: Zachary Chang, an 11th-grade student at Mill Valley High School enrolled in the CAPS makerspace and project management classes at CTEC, said student teams developed three competing design concepts. He described one idea as a kinetic gyroscope with a marble run to illustrate “progress from past to future,” another involving interlocking hands to symbolize community support, and a third using a tensegrity “floating island” motif incorporating local imagery such as sunflowers and goats.
Chang said students will present final proposals to the De Soto Arts Council, which will select the design to install in front of city hall. “Later this month…we’ll actually present our ideas to the DeSoto Art Council, and they will be the ones that decide for us,” Chang said. He also told the board the city is providing a $20,000 grant for the project.
Board discussion was uniformly supportive. Board member comments thanked the student team and cited the educational value and community visibility of student work. No alternate funding sources or contingency plans were discussed during the presentation.
Formal action: Board member Ashley moved to approve the public art display agreement between USD 232 and the City of De Soto; Brandy seconded. The motion passed 7-0.
Next steps: Students will complete detailed designs, present them to the De Soto Arts Council for selection, and then move into fabrication and installation pending the council’s decision and the project timeline. The board did not specify construction or insurance details during the meeting.
