OVERLAND PARK, Ks. — KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. Share your story idea with Isabella.
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The Blue Valley School District is facing a $17 million budget gap for next school year, which means the district has to make tough decisions.
Dozens of parents and students showed up in full force to the school board meeting on Monday night to make their voices heard.
The district has proposed making cuts to performing arts programs, language programs, extracurriculars and even some advanced classes.
"I just think it's unfair how it was distributed," student Wyatt Ricker said. "We're fighting for equitable cuts."
High school choir and music students performed a protest in song outside of the school district office while dozens of parents lined up to speak in front of the school board.
The board room hit capacity early on, and many families were standing outside the door during the duration of the meeting.
"We're here to try and support a sustainable path forward," one parent said.
Blue Valley isn't the only Kansas school district facing significant budget gaps for next year. It's one of the many schools that have been underfunded for special education, so the district has to make up that money in other ways.
Blue Valley is proposing to:
- Reduce administrative positions
- Reduce high school coaching positions and performing arts support
- Reduce out-of-area travel
- Suspend all seventh- and eighth-grade wrestling, cross country and drill/dance team programs
- Reduce district support for Parents as Teachers
- Adjust staffing in high school gifted education and library media, along with transitions to high school attendance area feeder-based instructional support and social work models
- Reduce some work calendars and contract days, along with changes to benefit eligibility for classified employees and administrators working fewer than 30 hours per week
The district is also looking to suspend the Chinese Language Immersion program. Several students spoke up in Mandarin, asking the board to reconsider.
"If you take this program away from us, it feels like you're taking a special part of our life away from us," middle schooler Charlie Grissay said.
One librarian spoke up about the proposed staff cuts and the potential impact on children's learning.
"As Blue Valley teachers have fervently worked to improve literacy scores, these scores will drop due to this decision," Abby Cornelius said. "Librarians are needed now more than ever as we teach our students how to deal with social media, AI, algorithms, information, misinformation and simultaneously being able to tell what is real and what’s not."
Others spoke up on the impact of cutting advanced classes like film and photography.
"These are the classes where students build portfolios, refine their skills and show the growth colleges look for," one Blue Valley community member said. "Film is more relevant now than at any point in the last 20 years."
The dozens of parents and students know it's a tough spot to be in, but asked the board on Monday night to look at other options before making a final decision.
"When my son can speak to his grandparents in their native language [of Chinese], something important happens," one parent said. "He's not simply practicing vocabulary or grammar; he's connecting across generations."
The Blue Valley School District has yet to adopt a final budget for the 2027-2028 school year.
KSHB 41 News sat down with the district's superintendent. You can see that coverage here.
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