OLATHE, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas, including Olathe and Lenexa. Share your story idea with Olivia.
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Olathe Families United is nearly ready to submit its petition to the Kansas State Board of Education in an effort to trigger a review of the district's plan to close six schools.
The group, which formed after the district announced plans to close six schools at the end of the year, has already surpassed its original goal of 6,100 signatures. To be safe, they've now raised that goal to 8,200. They have until November 13 to submit their petition.
The group needs the signatures from Olathe attendance area residents to trigger a review of the closures by the Kansas State Board of Education. Members have said they want families to have a voice when it comes to new boundaries, transportation, class sizes and the impact on students.
They hope the state board will see their point of view, because they don't feel the school district has.
"A lot of the data just doesn't make sense. I know that they were saying declining enrollment and low birth rates. We're not naive to think that that's not an issue here. Some of the schools on the list just don't make a lot of sense to us and so we want a second pair of eyes to see if that is true," said Gera Netcher, co-founder of Olathe Families United.
A review by the state board would be advisory only, meaning the district could choose to ignore the state's advice.
Starting next week, the district will hold community meetings as it discusses new boundary options. The group says they plan to make themselves heard through that process as well.
"I'm really proud of not only our volunteers but the community itself for backing us up on this. We're going to be involved throughout the whole entire process up until the end of the year and possibly beginning of next year," Netcher said. "Olathe Families United is not going anywhere."
Residents who live in the Olathe area and want to sign the petition can find Olathe Families United at the Indian Creek Library from 6 to 8 on Thursday, November 5.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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