Welcome & Introductions
Co-chairs Elaine Bluml and Stephen Hill welcomed attendees. Elaine Bluml provided a recap of the Sept. 2 meeting and reiterated the CAC’s next charge: to prioritize improvements for additional elementaries with remaining bond funds as available. She shared that Dr. Buck has requested rank-order prioritization of what the district should tackle first, second, third etc. with remaining bond funds knowing that costs could be under or over what our original estimates were last year. Katy Bergen reminded members that the Steering Committee is collecting information about the schools each CAC member represents so that the group can analyze its membership against its charge for broad-based diverse membership next semester.
Bond Presentation - Additional Elementaries
Dr. Buck provided a recap of CFMP and CAC work, including priorities emphasized by the CFMP, as well as committee feedback indicating preferences for completing fewer projects with more scope over more projects with less scope. He reviewed original ballot language and bond projects. He shared the final recommendation of the LSE/WVE process action team, which determined 26 to 5 not to recommend consolidation for the two schools. He shared that while the district originally estimated about $28.7 million in remaining bond funds for an additional elementary, that final sum could be higher or lower based on final project costs and other economic factors, precipitating the need for prioritizing possible projects (LSE, WVE or PLE or a different proposal). Kyle Gorrell provided presentations outlining original CFMP priorities and project overviews for Lee’s Summit Elementary ($16.7m), Westview Elementary ($25.9m) and Pleasant Lea Elementary ($28m) improvements. The presentation included updated budget estimates.
Questions and Answers
Dr. Buck and Kyle Gorrell answered questions about projects and processes.
Table Discussions + Share Outs
Stephen Hill led the group in reflection individually and in small groups before the CAC engaged in larger shareouts. Committee feedback centered on requests for more data including enrollment projections and building capacity data. The group emphasized the importance of equity and maximizing student impact. The group also weighed funding one full renovation in line with CFMP’s “fewer, bigger projects” approach or assessing the feasibility of dividing resources among multiple schools.
The district collected all sentiment and questions and will create packets of information responsive to CAC needs and questions for committee review ahead of decision-making at the Oct. 28 meeting.
