KSHB 41 News reporter Braden Bates covers parts of Jackson County, Missouri, including Lee's Summit. This story came from a resident's question and Braden followed up with the Lee's Summit School District to get answers. Send Braden a story idea by e-mail.
—
How do apartment complexes help and hurt school districts? The Lee's Summit R-7 School District is finding out.
This story came about after speaking with a Lee's Summit resident who lives next to an area about to undergo major development.
Norma Hackney questioned whether these developments will overcrowd her neighboring schools.
"Where are the kids going to school if they keep building apartment buildings?" Hackney said.
That question led me to reach out to the school district, which, coincidentally, was also gathering data on the impact of these housing units.
The data from the district shows that these units aren't drawing in school-aged children, and the district has actually experienced a decline in its student population in recent years.
"Particularly, the type of apartments that have been built here in Lee’s Summit have been mostly higher-end, urban lifestyle, which are not marketed, targeted, or designed for families," said Rick Brammer, the district's demographer.
While that looks to bounce back in the next decade, the data shows that overcrowding's unlikely.
The increased housing could mean economic gains for the district.
The school district has created a committee that's looking into the student population.
—
