The Kansas City Beacon

May 23, 2024 | kcbeacon.org | Maria Benevento

Independence School District Superintendent Dale Herl feels targeted by the state for moving to a four-day school week. On Wednesday, Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick announced a plan to audit the district. Independence schools aren’t accused of wrongdoing, and no one asked for an audit. Rather, it’s Fitzpatrick’s first foray into conducting more routine audits of some of the state’s 518 school districts, something he .

May 22, 2024 | kcbeacon.org | Mili Mansaray

Takeaways:Kansas City has the highest rate of unsheltered people experiencing long-term homelessness in the country, with 96% living on the streets. Last year, the City Council awarded Hope Faith Homeless Assistance Campus $7.1 million in federal funds for a low-barrier shelter. It rescinded the grant later in response to neighborhood objections. A low-barrier shelter is seen as key to meeting the Zero KC goal of essentially ending homelessness by 2030.

May 17, 2024 | kcbeacon.org | Meg Cunningham

Takeaways: Missouri Republicans’ plan to raise the threshold for passing initiative petitions failed amid intraparty discord and a Democratic filibuster. The bill aimed to make passing initiative petitions harder ahead of a potential November vote on allowing access to abortion. Republicans couldn’t agree on an approach to passing the bill, effectively killing it in the final hours of the legislative session.

May 17, 2024 | kcbeacon.org | Josh Merchant

A sparkly new development coming to Kansas City’s riverfront? Like we haven’t heard that line before. Seemingly every decade like clockwork, somebody pushes an idea that would finally put Kansas City’s 55-acre blemish along the Missouri River to good use. And, inevitably, the proposal ends up elsewhere — and the riverfront remains empty. It’s not for lack of trying.

May 16, 2024 | kcbeacon.org | Maria Benevento

The line of children filing down the hallway of George Melcher Elementary School in Kansas City seemed endless. “This is one first grade class,” Principal LaKeisha Paul said. “How many kids do you have?” she called to the teacher. The answer was 32. It’s hard to keep track. New students have continued to pour into Melcher throughout the school year. The kindergarten-through-sixth grade school went from 298 students in early September to 413 in mid-April,a nearly 39% increase. Growth didn’t stop there.