GARDNER, Kan. — Roughly 80 students with the Gardner Edgerton School District 231 were affected by the condemnation of the Aspen Place Apartments in Gardner, Kansas.
The city of Gardner condemned the complex because of serious health and safety hazards, including issues with water, sewer and road systems. Residents were notified Tuesday, May 6, they had to be out by 6 p.m. Thursday, May 8.
Gardner Edgerton's assistant superintendent of educational services said the district is freezing grades for the affected students if they don’t want to finish the school year, waiving fees and assisting with transportation services.
This is because these students qualify for McKinney-Vento, a federal law that protects students facing homelessness. The district also said it helped families register their students for McKinney-Vento services and is reaching out to each family to meet their individual needs.
“Been a little chaotic, to say the least,” said parent PJ Park.
Two of Park’s daughters attend USD 231 schools. He said the district has provided much-needed relief amid the chaos.
“That's been a breeze, to be honest,” Park said.
Daniel Gallemore is also grateful for how the district has made an impossible situation easier to manage for his daughter. She’s a sophomore in the district.
“That was probably the reason that a lot of people here ended up here, was because it was cheap and it was available, it was open,” Gallemore said. “It was embarrassing and frustrating, I’m sure, for her and other kids, too, who didn’t have water pressure, couldn’t shower here, had to find somewhere else to shower. “
One resident sent KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig an image of a sinkhole that formed after a fire truck responded to the complex overnight last weekend, May 3-4, on a water main break. The city then announced the condemnation two days later.
In a statement, the attorney group representing Aspen Place mentioned the incident.
"It appears that this action by the City was precipitated by an incident on Saturday where a fire truck responding to an emergency call got stuck on one of the access roads," the statement said in part.
It’s why the Parks look forward to what’s next: unpacking in their new home.
“They were born into this place, and so they're experiencing their first move for the first time,” Parks said.
In a statement, the district shared the steps it's taking to assist families.
“We have been working with outside agencies and attended the collaboration efforts last week in an effort to support our students. In addition to connecting them to agencies that specialize in finding new homes, shelters and other daily resources, we are providing additional support. We have roughly 80 students that are impacted. We are reaching out individually to every family to touch base and talk about needs and plans. The district will freeze grades if a student/family does not want to finish the school year due to hardship. In addition, we are waiving fees for these students. Last week, we met at the Hope Market event where we met with families to register their students for McKinney Vento services. McKinney Vento students that are displaced due to economic hardship are eligible for support with transportation to and from school even if they move out of the district. We are committed to assisting our students in transportation for the remainder of the school year. Along with those efforts, we have additional mental health team members and resource experts available. Finally, school staff across the district have been actively looking for ways to assist those families through donations and volunteering.
"If you're looking for ways to support the families and students affected by the Aspen Place closure, please consider the following opportunities. we've received many messages and calls from those eager to help—thank you for consistently going above and beyond for our students!
"For donations: Donations
"To volunteer: Volunteer Link
"If you would like to donate boxes, we were told those could be dropped off at the office at Aspen Place.”
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KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers the cities of Shawnee and Mission. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.
