A motion a Board member could offer (draft)
Proposal
Review-and-preserve motion
"I move that the Board (1) direct the superintendent to present publicly, within 30 calendar days, the K–12 World Language program evaluation adopted in the 2026–27 District Goals, together with a comparison, for the students enrolled in 2026–27 and the same years, of (a) continuing the program, (b) sunsetting, in which every enrolled student finishes the pathway with no new enrollment, each of (a) and (b) with and without community funding if the Board finds an avenue, and (c) the announced cancellation, stating for each the net operating cost, the assumed share of immersion students who stay, qualified-staff availability, high-school placement and credit, and the earliest decision that would foreclose it; and (2) pending that presentation and the Board's review, preserve the status quo on irreversible staffing, enrollment, contracting and placement steps to the extent permitted by existing law, contracts and appropriations. This direction does not guarantee employment, alter collective-bargaining terms, or authorize unappropriated spending."
This is a study-and-vote motion, not a funded restoration. The Board uses its own agenda and legal-review procedures.
Letter to a legislator, and a 30-second phone script
Proposal
Letter to a legislator (draft)
Subject: Please fund special education at the level Kansas law sets
Dear [Representative/Senator last name],
I am your constituent and a Blue Valley parent. Kansas law computes special-education state aid at 92% of excess costs, subject to appropriation (K.S.A. 72-3422). The Division of the Budget reports that the 2026–27 appropriation of $617 million will cover about 65.3% of those costs. Blue Valley reports that it moved more than $16 million from its general fund to special education in 2025 (its legislative page), and its October 2026 update says it transferred $18.9 million "last year."
I know some argue that local-option-budget dollars should also count. Most of that money is raised from local property taxes, and the statute's 92% refers to state aid.
Blue Valley has cited special-education underfunding, among other budget pressures, in announcing that elementary and middle-school Chinese will end in 2027–28. Please make special-education funding a priority this session.
Sincerely, [Your name] [Home address and ZIP, so the office can confirm you are a constituent]
Proposal
30-second phone script (draft)
"Hello, my name is [name], and I'm a constituent in [ZIP]. I'm asking [legislator] to prioritize special-education funding. State law computes state aid at 92% of excess costs, subject to appropriation. The Division of the Budget says this year's state aid covers about 65%. Blue Valley reports moving $18.9 million last year from other district resources to cover the gap, and it has cited budget pressures in ending elementary and middle-school Chinese. Thank you."
Talking points
- We understand the district faces real tradeoffs and must provide required services to all students.
- Staffing savings come from serving the same children in fewer classrooms, so classes get larger for regular students too, at Wolf Springs and at the schools children move to. The district's own example is four classrooms becoming three (p. 89). 1 Class sizes
- The Board's own 2026–27 goal is a K–12 World Language evaluation with recommendations. Please finish and publish it before anything is cut. 2 3
- Please show the current net savings and the assumed share of immersion students who stay. Many students plan to stay, and the district says the savings come "over the years" as fewer transfer students stay (p. 89). 1
- The district described a K–12 pathway and, in 2023, said current Valley Park students "would continue." 4 5
The district's strongest explanations, and fair responses
"Money is finite and special education is mandatory."
"Qualified teachers are hard to find."
The 2023 report documented real licensing, fluency and work-authorization problems. 8 Fair response: ask for aggregate vacancy, turnover and recruitment records and the minimum staffing each option needs. Do not claim staffing problems are imaginary or suggest unqualified volunteers.
"Boards can change curriculum."
True. Program webpages do not bind future Boards to fund an optional program unchanged. 4
Questions for the Board
- Before the change takes effect, will the district present, in public, a full review that weighs what ending elementary and middle-school Chinese saves against what students would lose, including the Board's own K–12 World Language evaluation? 2
- Will the Board publish its World Language evaluation and the district's 2027–28 net-savings estimate (costs that continue, staff reassigned, positions cut, assumed share of immersion students who stay) before any irreversible staffing step? What is the realistic year-one saving if transfer students stay? How was the $360,000 sunset figure calculated? Which of the $75,000 in support-staff costs end? Was the 2022 or the current figure used? 2 7 1
- What would continuing the program, and a sunset in which every enrolled student finishes, each cost on an avoidable-net basis over the same years, stating which students each covers? 8
- Kansas law permits donations, and Policies KH and DFAA provide for gifts and private grants. Does the 2023 restriction on privately funded salaries still apply? Would it prohibit a Board-accepted grant supporting continuing Mandarin immersion? If so, identify the controlling statute, policy, Board action or negotiated-agreement provision, and explain what would be required to change the restriction. If gifts cannot pay salaries, may they cover the program's non-salary costs? 9 10 11 8
- The district says the high-school minimum is "typically 18 students," with STAMP placement and up to two pass/fail credits (p. 92). Will Chinese sections run at Blue Valley North and Southwest after 2027–28? 12 6 1
Every Board member and district contact
Board, superintendent and staff names and roles are verified on district pages. Addresses marked “Confirm address” were circulated by parents and are not printed on the district pages reviewed. [email protected] reaches the whole Board. 13
Board of Education (all members)
Written comments to the Board 13
[email protected]On district page- [email protected]On district page
Jan Kessinger
Board President (NE Area, Member 1) 16
[email protected]Confirm addressClay Norkey
Board Vice President (At Large, Member 7) 16
[email protected]Confirm addressPatrick Hurley
Board member (NW Area, Member 2) 16
[email protected]Confirm addressJodie Dietz
Board member (S Area, Member 3) 16
[email protected]Confirm addressDr. Sonya Evans
Board member (NE Area, Member 4) 16
[email protected]Confirm addressGina Knapp
Board member (NW Area, Member 5) 16
[email protected]Confirm addressDr. David Benson
Board member (S Area, Member 6) 16
[email protected]Confirm address- [email protected]On district page
Melissa Clark
World Language Coordinator 18
[email protected]On district page
Records we have requested under the Kansas Open Records Act
Parents in the group have sent the district two formal requests under the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA). Below is what each asks for and where it stands. Please don't send duplicates.
Request 1The cancellation decision: money, alternatives, authority and transition
- LawKansas Open Records Act (K.S.A. 45-215 et seq.)
- SentOct 14, 2026 (after business hours) · receipt confirmed
- StatusResponse received; under review
What it asks for:
- Financial analyses and budget models used to justify cancellation: projected annual net savings, costs that continue or are reassigned, transition costs, and how the savings relate to the district's projected shortfall
- Spending, budgets and staffing for elementary and middle-school Chinese, 2023–24 through 2026–27, by school, job category, FTE and funding source
- The complete April 25, 2023 task-force data report and any final 2022–23 actual-expense report
- Any analyses of alternatives: letting current cohorts finish, closing new enrollment only, staffing changes, consolidation, keeping middle-school Chinese Language Arts
- Recommendations, presentations, minutes, Board actions, policies or delegations documenting who recommended and approved the cancellation, plus the 2023 consolidation approval
- Records of how the decision was made, including related correspondence
- Enrollment, application, waitlist and withdrawal reports since 2023–24, and aggregate proficiency, outcome and program-evaluation reports (no identifiable student records)
- Transition plans for current students: continued language development, middle-school completion, high-school placement and credit, AP Chinese preparation, and the effect on future high-school enrollment
Asked for an itemized fee estimate before any charges, and rolling production with financial and approval records first.
Request 2Enrollment agreements and commitments made to families
- LawKansas Open Records Act (K.S.A. 45-215 et seq.)
- SentOct 14, 2026 (after business hours) · receipt confirmed
- StatusResponse received; under review
What it asks for:
- Every version of any enrollment agreement, commitment form or acknowledgment used for Chinese immersion since the program began (blank templates preferred)
- Which entering cohorts each version applied to, and who approved it, including any Board action or delegation
- A redacted sample where no blank template exists, showing the terms but no family information
- Any records addressing whether those commitments were considered in the October 2026 cancellation decision
Asked for a fee estimate before charges.
The district has responded to both requests, and the parents who sent them are reviewing the responses. Please don't file duplicates; that slows things for everyone. If you need a record that isn't on this list, ask the group first so one targeted request can cover it. Anything shared here will come only after a privacy review.
The district must act on a request by the end of the third business day after receiving it. That is a deadline for a response, not necessarily for full production. 19 A records request reaches only records that already exist; it cannot make the district create a new analysis. 20
Documented
Under the Kansas Open Records Act, a records request must be acted on by the end of the third business day after it is received. That is a deadline for a response (access, a denial, or a detailed explanation of the delay with the earliest date the records will be available), not necessarily for complete production. If access is denied, you can request a written statement citing the specific legal grounds. 19
Records we have asked for
- The Kansas Open Records Act gives access to existing records. It does not require the district to create a new analysis. 20
- Asking the administration to prepare a comparison is an advocacy request to the Board, not a records request.
- Parents have already requested most of the records below: records already requested.
The missing records, by category
- FIN01Current program accounts, actual spending and FTE by school, year, job category and funding source
- FIN02The 2027–28 cancellation baseline and annual net-savings model, with formulas
- FIN03Deidentified position-level elimination, attrition, reassignment and replacement mapping
- FIN04Aggregate applications, offers, enrollment, waitlist and withdrawals by grade and site
- FIN05Section schedules, bilingual and paraeducator allocations, vacancies and feasible staffing
- FIN06Transition dates, materials, contracts, transportation and course-placement costs
- FIN07The native 2023 cost model, final 2022–23 actuals and explanation of the discrepancies above
- FIN08Program revenues and restrictions, and any actual outside-support commitments
- FIN09Any existing grandfathering, clustering or bridge analyses, and rejected-option assumptions
- FIN10High-school section minimums, placement and credit rules after lower grades end