FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT....
 Reaching out to lawmakers to advocate for students
Keeping the lines of communication open between our school district and our state lawmakers is especially critical this time of year as legislators return to Jefferson City for the spring session. This year is an important one for our schools as legislators discuss issues such as the hold-harmless problem within the state education funding formula and address challenges in laws governing the transfer of students from unaccredited to accredited districts.
Thanks to the work of two volunteer community groups, we had the opportunity to host a valuable meeting in late January between our state elected officials, the Lee's Summit R-7 Citizens' Advisory Committee (CAC) and the district's Business Roundtable (BRt).
Throughout fall 2011, both the CAC and BRt have been meeting and discussing a number of school district issues, including state funding and the Kansas City Public Schools' loss of accreditation. The two community groups made the decision to meet together with state legislators, scheduling this event just a few weeks after the General Assembly session began.
The meeting focused on three topics: (1) state finances and the hold-harmless situation, (2) alternative funding for public schools including ideas such as limited school bus advertising and (3) loss of accreditation by Kansas City Public Schools and the impact of potential transfer students on our school district.
The meeting included five legislators – Sen. Will Kraus, Rep. Mike Cierpiot, Rep. Jeff Grisamore, Rep. Kevin McManus and Rep. Noel Torpey. It was also attended by approximately 50 members of the Citizens' Advisory Committee and the Business Roundtable.
We were pleased with the meeting's turnout and the response from our lawmakers and our community teams. Our legislators were very candid about the 2012 session, offering support but also letting us know that during an election year it becomes more difficult to get needed legislation passed in the Missouri General Assembly.
On the topic of the hold-harmless situation, which is costing our district millions of dollars in state aid, legislators indicated that they would be willing to address this issue while also stating that it would be a difficult sell among lawmakers across the state.
During discussions of school bus advertising, our legislators were again supportive of passing a law that would give local districts authority over this fundraising mechanism. The elected officials were somewhat supportive of a sales-tax option that has been discussed by our community groups. At the present time, both school bus advertising and the opportunity for district residents to vote on a sales-tax initiative for local schools are not allowed by state law. One sales-tax proposal discussed by our citizens' groups would involve rolling back property taxes at an amount totaling half of what is generated by a voter-approved school district sales tax.
Legislators were also sympathetic toward our school district regarding challenges faced by Lee's Summit R-7 due to Kansas City Public Schools' loss of accreditation. They added that they would have much more information later this spring as this issue proceeds through the House and Senate.
To learn more about our district's legislative platform, visit http://www.leesummit.k12.mo.us/districtinfo/LegislativePlatform2012.html. This web page also includes a list of all elected officials for our school district as well as their contact information.
We appreciate the efforts of the many individuals and organizations – from PTA to Citizens' Advisory Committee to Business Roundtable – who advocate for our schools and students. Thanks for all you do for the children!
Dr. David McGehee
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