By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
April 20, 2011

Approximately 30 buildings are up for grabs in the Kansas City Missouri School District repurposing initiative.

However, there’s one hitch.

KCMSD doesn’t own its buildings and won’t own them until 2014. KCMSD Building Corporation currently owns the buildings, and until the final payment is received in 2014, only non-profit or government entities will be allowed to purchase and lease the shuttered buildings.

KCMSD began closing its schools due to decreased enrollment, which has plagued the district since 1980. By 2010, enrollment had decreased by 52 percent, said Repurposing Initiative Director Shannon Jaax. To become more efficient, KCMSD closed 29 buildings in 2009 and 2010 as part of its “right-sizing initiative.” Prior to 2009, the district closed 10 schools.

Asked how many students were displaced due to right-sizing, Jaax said she didn’t know.

Of the 39 closed sites, KCMSD is reusing Richardson Elementary School as a professional development center and is retaining eight sites for future use.

“I really view this as an opportunity for our community,” Jaax said of repurposing the buildings. “We wished we didn’t have to deal with this, but we do have an opportunity to turn this into a positive opportunity.”

Goals of repurposing the buildings include maintaining the financial strength and integrity of the school district, using community-driven re-use strategies and promoting the well-being of the neighborhoods with shuttered schools, she said.

KCMSD isn’t new to selling its buildings, she said. In the past, 30 school sites have been sold with 22 being repurposed into city parks, housing, charter schools, parochial schools, storage facilities, among others.

Phase I of the repurposing initiative – public tours of shuttered buildings – began earlier this month and will continue through June. KCMSD is releasing tour dates on a monthly basis to allow for flexibility, Jaax said.

Phase II will include additional public meetings with the “technical team” to discuss the buildings in more detail and evaluate reuse options. During each public meeting, three to five sites will be discussed and meetings will run from May through September.

Next, a community advisory team and technical advisory team will develop a detailed action plan for building reuses.

The final phase will be leasing and selling the buildings.

Purchasing/leasing stipulations

Since the KCMSD Building Corporation owns the buildings, there are additional stipulations until the school district’s leasing contract expires in 2014. The building bonds were issued on a tax exempt status, which means only non-profit and government agencies may lease or purchase the buildings. As part of that requirement, buildings must be sold at fair market value and leased or sold to the highest bid. Once the district owns the buildings, private and for-profit entities will have a chance to purchase or lease a building.

The KCMSD Board of Education has the final say and a building leasing or purchasing agreement must be passed by a two-thirds vote of the board. KCMSD also reserves the right to nullify a lease or take a building back if the reuse plan is not fulfilled in a timely manner.

April site tours

The public is invited to attend site tours, which will include a tour of the building and grounds, history of the building and layout, and an exploratory meeting following the tour.

Upcoming tours include:

•April 21: Marlborough, 1300 E 75th St., 5:30 p.m.

•April 26: Woodland, 711 Woodland Ave., 5:30 p.m.

•April 28: Dunbar, 5419 E. 36th St., 5:30 p.m.

•April 30: Douglass, West and Switzer Annex, 9 a.m. Begins at Douglass, 2640 Belleview

Kansas City Missouri School District has closed 39 schools as part of its “right-sizing initiative.” Since the 1980s, the school district’s enrollment has steadily decreased for a variety of factors. One of the shuttered buildings is Thacher Elementary School, 5008 Independence Ave., pictured above. KCMSD closed Thacher in 2009. Submitted photo