The winner of this election will face Democrat Amy Diediker for a spot on the board this November.
Maria Benevento
Maria Benevento is The Beacon’s education reporter. She joined The Beacon as a Report for America corps member. In addition to her work at The Beacon, she’s reported for the National Catholic Reporter, Columbia Missourian and St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Her education reporting began in 2017, and she became a full-time Kansas City education reporter with The Beacon in mid-2021. She graduated from Creighton University in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in theology and American studies. In 2021, she graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a master's degree in journalism. She’s lived in Missouri most of her life and first moved to Kansas City in 2017.
Posted inEducation
KCK steps up work on school buildings promised with $180 million bond package
Work on an addition to Sumner Academy of Arts and Science began this spring, and construction of three new KCK schools is scheduled to start later this summer.
Posted inEducation
Make cuts or more taxes? KCK school board considers its options
A divided board voted 4-3 to “exceed revenue neutral,” meaning it may collect more taxes to cover growing costs. But the decision isn’t final until August.
Posted inEducation
A new set of distractions? Missouri’s ban on cellphones in schools still divides
Some appreciate the legal backup for teachers’ cellphone policies and say students are socializing more. Others think the ban goes too far.
Posted inEducation
‘Historic’: Kansas City Public Schools teachers win 5% raise
Starting pay for teachers is now higher than $50,000, and other staff members will also see their pay increase.
Posted inEducation
These are Missouri’s newest education laws if Gov. Mike Kehoe approves
Most education bills failed in Jefferson City this year. But measures on antisemitism and school security are among those that the legislature approved.
Posted inState Government
Cellphones, foster children, literacy: Kansas approves new education laws
Most of the laws were signed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, and lawmakers overrode her veto to opt Kansas into a federal tax credit program.
Posted inEducation
Two Kansas City charter schools didn’t get permission to stay open. What happens now?
As Lee A. Tolbert Community Academy and the younger grades of Hogan College Preparatory face closure, other schools are expanding to keep their buildings open.
Posted inEducation
Kansas City charter school ‘does not meet’ performance standards. Will it stay open?
KIPP Kansas City fell short of its charter school sponsor’s expectations, but it was invited to apply for another five-year contract to operate.
Posted inEducation
Historic KC school bond passed a year ago. When will I see changes to my school?
Kansas City Public Schools has started some building projects funded by the bond and is seeking more public input on the details of others.