KSHB 41 reporter Fe Silva covers K-12 education stories. Share your story idea with Fe.
Garfield Elementary principal Lauren Amicone gave KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva a tour of the building for nearly two hours.
The goal: Show how the school could benefit from the GO Bond.
“Our auditorium does not have air conditioning,” Amicone said. “You can see from the ceiling that we had a lot of water damage due to the leaky roof.”
The leaks have even affected classrooms. But the problem also extends to the floors.
“There are holes and gaps in the ground,” Amicone said.
Repairs are needed everywhere – and the district would need additional funds for this.
A General Obligation (GO) bond is the primary way for school districts to finance facility improvements and repairs. In the April election, KCPS will put one on the ballot. The goal is to provide funding to meet maintenance needs – and ultimately improve the learning environment for KCPS students.
The cost to the average county homeowner in the April 2025 GO Bond (for property owners with homes valued at $200,000) is less than $0.64 per day – to raise $474 million. Of that, $50 million would go to charter schools. More than $7 million would go to Garfield Elementary.
Space is also on her wish list. There is not enough storage space in the building. Some materials are piled up in the hallways.
In addition, some professionals share their rooms with others.
ELL teacher Lisa Stull has a short wall between her workspace and her colleague's. You have groups of students in the room at the same time.
“You have to somehow teach the children that everything that is said here can also be heard there – and vice versa,” said Stull.
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There are no green areas outside for the children to play. But they play soccer and have fun – on the sidewalk.
“A lot of Band-Aids and things like that,” Stull said.
The repairs would help heal the students – both externally and internally.
At least that's what speech therapist Sherri French's more than 40 years of experience have taught.
“I think it creates an expectation that they don't necessarily deserve the best, that it's OK if they have less quality,” French said.
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“Maybe we let our kids go to a sports game, so to speak, and as they walk into the gym and walk past the classrooms, they see what a school should look like infrastructure-wise – a place that values them and supports them for the highest quality educational space possible They can have,” said Shain Bergan, public relations coordinator for the district.
This is a mindset that staff and teachers work hard to change every day.
“We want this space to be as inspiring as the people,” Amicone said.
“We want to help our children achieve this,” Bergan added.
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