By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
June 15, 2011

Following years of service to the Kansas City Missouri Board of Education, board member Marilyn Simmons submitted her resignation.

KCMSD Board of Education President Airick West read aloud Simmons’ letter of resignation during the June 8 board of education meeting.

“I must, because of health challenges, end my service and resign my seat as board director for the 6th Sub-district effective today,” Simmons wrote.

Simmons listed how she served the school district during the past 25 years, including being a homeroom mother, School Advisory Committee chair, serving on the school board, among others.

“It has been a privilege and honor to serve the children, families and residents of the district and Sub-district 6, and I want to express my gratitude to the many members of this community who have supported and encouraged me over the years,” her letter said.

Simmons’ letter of resignation further stated she loved the district, its students and families, but she didn’t have the “strength to continue.” She encouraged the board to remember their duty of serving all the children of the district.

Board members West, Crispin Rea Jr., Kyleen Carroll, Arthur Benson, Derek Richey, Duane Kelly, Joseph Jackson and Ray Wilson will vote on accepting her resignation during the next scheduled meeting. Once the board officially accepts her resignation, KCMSD will hold a special election to fill her remaining term.

PIONEER Grant recipients announced

KCMSD selected ten schools to participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s PIONEER Program, a pay for performance program that awards teachers and principals who demonstrate effectiveness in student growth, professional growth through additional study and school climate. Schools to benefit from the five-year $13.6 million grant include Gladstone, Wheatley, Phillips, Attucks, Troost, Pitcher, Faxon, Longfellow, Banneker and Foreign Language Academy.

“This is an effort to promote student achievement and our schools’ transformation by providing incentive pay to highly dedicated and effective teachers,” Superintendent Dr. John Covington said.

KCMSD Executive Director of Human Capital and Performance Management Leo Brown said KCMSD will form an advisory team to receive input from teachers, principals and the union president to discuss incentive pay criteria and how to divvy out the extra pay.

Delano debate

When Rea saw the proposal to close special needs school R.J. Delano on the consent agenda, he requested it be moved to the next meeting’s regular agenda. Covington is proposing closing Delano since it doesn’t meet the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by educating children in the least restrictive environment.

Asked if KCMSD followed board policy by informing stakeholders of significant changes, Convington said, ‘yes’ and that KCMSD warned parents and Delano staff about the possible closing during the 2009-2010 school year. During that school year, KCMSD moved the lower grades to other schools with the intent of removing the remaining grades the following school year.

“This recommendation is a result of what was already requested last year,” Covington said.

KCMSD Chief of Staff Dr. Chace Ramey stressed that keeping Delano open is a “violation of the law.”

By failing to educate Delano’s students with non-disabled students, it inhibits the students’ ability to interact with others in the “real world,” Ramey said.

If closed, Delano elementary students will transfer to Wheatley Elementary School and high school aged children will transfer to the annex at East High School.

“I’ve been out of the classroom for 18 years,” Kelly said. “Before that there was an expression, ‘If it works, they kill it.’ The Delano program has worked decades, decades it has…”

“What you should do if you haven’t done it already is see to it that these kids don’t get picked on and teased. Based on 31 years in this district as a teacher, that’s real. There’s some people who will say they’ll love picking on them.”

Jackson questioned the 60-day turnaround from when school dismisses June 15 and the start of school in early August. He also pointed out the annex isn’t air conditioned and could impact the students’ health and well being.

Convington assured Benson KCMSD would install air conditioning in the annex by the start of school and would provide additional professional development training to teachers.

“I want to go on record and caution the board it is a fact and the coauthor of the reauthorization of the (IDEA) act has said that the board places itself in serious litigation problems if this concern is not addressed,” Convington said of closing Delano.

Board of education members will vote on whether or not to close Delano during the next meeting, June 22.