Hitting the Century

That title is the only reference you're getting to this being The Missouri Expatriate's 100th post. On to business from southern Kansas City.

Earlier today at their annual school retreat, the Hickman Mills School Board voted by an 8-1 margin to reorganize their secondary schools to better reflect the changing population of the district. That is, their decreasing population and tax revenue. At the heart of this reorganization is the consolidation of Hickman Mills and Ruskin high schools.

Indeed this is an end result of population changes in this area: initially the home school district for Harry Truman, the area sprouted up during the initial waves of urban sprawl. Not even the Ruskin Heights twister of 1957 would impede its growth, as evenutally it became home to the once-bustling Bannister Mall. Sam Walton would use the district as a testbed for his ideas in retailing, first opening a Ben Franklin there in 1956, six years before the first Wal-Mart, and then the ill-fated Hypermart in the late 80s. But as populations moved further south, into Johnson and Cass counties plus districts in eastern Jackson County, Bannister deteriorated beyond operability, and so did the area's reputation. Repeated efforts to revitalize it, including plans to build a major soccer complex for the Wizards, have floundered.

So now the district's left with a loss of 1500 students over the past 10 years, with a city struggling to come up with a viable plan and sticking with it. As a result, consolidation from two high schools and two middle schools, but instead a structure that's done a certain district in the Northland wonders the past 20 years. Next month, the board will decide which among their four secondary school buildings—Ruskin and Hickman Mills, plus Ervin and Smith-Hale middle schools—will serve as their grades 6 & 7 middle school, their 8 & 9 junior high, and their grades 10-12 high school.

While it will be unfortunate for one neighborhood's alma mater to close, and for as many as 60 secondary teachers to have to find work elsewhere, this can become the reorganization needed to rejuvenate the potential of the district's students. (I must say that I speak as someone who attended that "certain district in the Northland", and during my studies in education theory found that Liberty's secondary school structure was considered one of the most effective at dealing with issues involving adolescents, both academically and personally.) If Hickman Mills can tighten their belts and provide adequate class sizes and attention to their students, both in terms of academics and personal development, they can pull this off. If they are able to retain enough staff to deal with problems before they fester and devolve into potentially violent incidents, they will see improvements that can bring people back into the district and bring about the economic revitalization they're needing.

Most of all, if they can weather the emotional storm over a neighborhood losing their school and convince effective parents that they can and will pull this off, this will prove beneficial in the long run for one of Kansas City's oldest school systems.

Best wishes to everyone in Hickman Mills during what is a trying time in their district's history.