By Jeff Murphy,
December 16, 2015
WARRENSBURG, MO (Dec. 16, 2015) – Renewal of a charter agreement with Hope Leadership
Academy (HLA) in Kansas City for a five-year period, the demolition of five university-owned
houses, a contract for on-call architectural and engineering services, and the establishment
of a contingency fund for Crane Stadium-Tompkins Field improvements were among items
approved by the Board of Governors when it met in plenary session Dec. 11.
Board action regarding Hope Leadership Academy followed a presentation by Vici Hughes,
director of the Office of Charter Schools at UCM. As school sponsor, UCM has renewed
HLA’s charter through June 30, 2021.
Hope Leadership Academy opened in August 2011 as a neighborhood school serving families
in an area considered the most in need of a quality school after two schools located
in the same area were closed by the Kansas City Public Schools in 2010. Student enrollment
at HLA for 2015-2016 is 120 students with 94 percent minority enrollment and 100 percent
of the students qualifying for free lunches. Its current charter was set to expire
June 30, 2016. HLA’s charter renewal application will be presented to the Missouri
State Board of Education in February 2016, and materials supporting the recommendation
must be sent to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by Dec.
31, 2015.
The charter school renewal application for HLA changes the grade configuration of
the school to two sections of grades K-4, and its curriculum reflects educational
values and beliefs related to research about the importance of character education.
When the school first opened, it enrolled students in grades K-2 the first year, and
expected to add a grade level each year until grades K-8 were in school. In 2013,
however, the new Marion Ewing Kauffman School opened to enroll students from the HLA
neighborhood and five other neighborhoods needing quality schools. This new, larger
school, now enrolls students in grades 5-12.
In other business, the board authorized the university to move forward with the demolition
of the Mitchell Street farm house, university owned houses at 705 and 705-1/2 S. Washington
St., and recently acquired houses at 210 and 212 W. South St. All of these structures
are vacated, and in need of significant repairs. The university is combining their
demolition into a single project, and anticipates total cost for their removal to
be below $100,000.
The board also approved the establishment of a contingency equivalent to 10 percent
- $111,300 – of the approved project cost for Crane Stadium-Tompkins Field improvements.
The project, totals $1,113,000 and includes the cost of $990,000 for field construction
and an Astroturf Diamond R. Series baseball infield that is funded by a gift from
UCM alumnus Jim Crane. It also includes $123,000 for approved alternates and miscellaneous
project expenses such as geotechnical investigation, land disturbance, erosion control,
and fence repair to be funded with university reserves. The original proposal did
not include any other project contingency. If needed, the $111,300 in contingency
funds would come from university reserves.
A contract for on-call architectural and engineering services was approved for Gould
Evans Associations, Burns & McDonnell, and The Clark Enersen Partners for one year,
for the period Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2016, with one-year renewal options.
