Lee’s Summit families are angry about the district’s proposal to close the school

LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. – Tuesday evening, parents and community members in Lee’s Summit demanded answers about a recommended closure of Lee’s Summit Elementary School.

“I was blindsided,” said Chris Winburn, the parent of a future Lee’s Summit Elementary student. “We’re specifically moving from out of state to downtown Lee’s Summit — one of the biggest things when we wanted to move back to Kansas City was school districts, especially elementary schools.”

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A few hundred people gathered at the Lee’s Summit Elementary gym for the parent-teacher association meeting.

The group’s president addressed the crowd and explained the timeline of possible closures.

“The LSR-7 District CFMP Executive Summary, dated June 2024, does not mention closures and consolidations anywhere in the document,” said PTA President Valerie Salazar.

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After a 20-minute presentation by the assistant superintendent of the Lee’s Summit School District, the floor opened to questions from the audience.

Many were concerned about transparency in the district office, student mental health and job security.

“The number of elementary schools in Westview and Lee has been declining for some time,” said Dr. Dave Buck, the district’s superintendent. “They are both in the 200 range – Lee’s Summit Elementary could drop below 200.”

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During the district’s presentation, the board outlined the decision-making process for the project, following a year-long extensive master planning process for the facilities.

The district and its Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) will refine the plan for a proposed $225 million bond issue, which will go to a vote in April 2025.

LSR-7’s administrator told KSHB 41 that the bond measure would not impact taxpayers’ pockets.

“We have three choices: we can’t do anything, and if the building continues to rise, we will have to withdraw staff and redeploy them to other parts of our district, and that means class sizes will increase and class sizes will increase. services are going down,” Buck said. “We can’t do anything for now, but if we make this decision a year from now, we won’t have one building big enough to house all the families in one place instead of splitting it up between multiple schools, or we’re doing this now to to upgrade and expand Westview Elementary to address both populations.”

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The biggest part of consolidating schools is enrollment.

According to the district’s presentation Tuesday night, Westview and Lee’s Summit Elementary have seen a 10% decline in enrollment from 2023 to 2025.

LSR-7 leaders argue that consolidating the two schools would lead to greater academic achievement among students, better learning spaces and maintenance of adequate class sizes.

“We don’t want to split the families, and we don’t want to split the community,” Buck said. “It’s a beloved community.”

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In a recent report, Salazar said KSHB 41 district administrator Claire Bradshaw failed to warn or consult with PTA leaders prior to the recommended closure.

On Tuesday evening, Lee’s Summit School District offered a one-on-one interview with local media partners with Buck prior to the PTA meeting.

KSHB 41 asked why the PTA was involved in the conversation.

“It went straight to the citizen advisory committee, and they made the decision to recommend it to the board,” Buck said. “We decided last week and the week before to add additional steps to engage staff and the community.”

KSHB 41 asked if the government’s decision would be final, and if families could change the decision in the recommendation.

“Obviously they have a voice,” Buck said. ‘That’s why we’re meeting tonight. I’m glad they’re passionate. They are happy that they love their school.”

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Buck explained that he and other administrators would stay as long as possible to answer questions during or after Tuesday’s PTA meeting.

During the PTA meeting, Buck and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Steve Shelton did not deviate from their talking points, which led to several outbursts from the crowd.

The two consistently assured their relative that students are their first priority.

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Many questions from the audience stemmed from the abrupt nature of the school district’s decision.

“I’m trying to be as transparent and candid as possible about a very difficult decision,” Buck said.

Remaining timeline of LSR-7 proposal:

November 19 – CAC meeting; will finalize the recommendation for the use of funds for the bond.

November 21 – LSR7 Board of Education Meeting.

December 5 – LSR7 Council Working Session Education Council; The CAC’s final advice is presented to the members of the Education Council.

December 19 – LSR7 Board of Education meeting (the final decision on the expenditure of funds for the bond issue will be voted on).

April 2025 – The general election is also expected to include LSR7 bond issues

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The district says it will not sell Lee’s Summit Elementary and plans to repurpose the site.

If the plan is not approved, LSR7 expects two outcomes: closing Lee’s Summit Elementary in the future and redistributing families to multiple classrooms or reducing staff, which would increase class sizes and decrease services.

If passed, students would start school at Westview Elementary in 2028; faculty and staff would move with the students, with a few staff members posted to the district as a position became available.

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KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. Share your story idea with Ryan.