KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Missouri School District says that they plan on turning the Afrikan Centered Education Campus into a prep academy, but parents of students there say that’s a bad idea, and they are taking their protests to the front steps of the homes of KCSD board members.
The charter school’s contract with the district is set to expire on June 30th, and the district plans on taking over immediately. That plan hasn’t set well with ACE parents like Spark Bookhart, who this week joined other parents protesting at the home of KCSD board member Derek Richey.
“We’ve sent letters to the the board,” said Bookhart. “They’be ignored us. (Superintendent Dr. Stephen) Green has certainly ignored us and basically we’re to the point where we won’t be ignored any longer.”
Another parent was more blunt with their assessment of the KCSD board.
“With all do respect, you have been consistently a failure,” they said.
The district claims that it is taking over the program because ACE administrators mishandled nearly $8 million in taxpayer dollars, but parents claim that the real reason is that the district wants to use their school to reclaim their state accreditation.
“Dr. Green’s plans are malicious, misaligned with gaining accreditation and it’s going to cause significant disruption to the district,” said Bookhart.
On Thursday, the district told FOX 4 that the parents are free to exercise their right to free speech, but that the district will continue their takeover of ACE in preparation for the new school year in August.
