Barbeque party to say "Good-bye, Cherokee!"

Parents, students, teachers, community members, and former students line up for food.

On May 21, 2001, Cherokee parents had a last party before the final closing of the school. May 24, 2001, was the last school day at Cherokee Elementary. Children sang sad songs of tribute and many of them started crying.

The administration of the SMSD could transfer students to Pawnee and Overland Park elementary according to school boundaries and receive all of the monetary savings. The administration could cut more programs and get rid of some highly paid personnel. This did not happen. We strongly believe that it is an achievement of SMSD superintendent Dr. Kaplan.

Catering provided by Backyard Burgers

Dr. Kaplan cannot change a system inside the district that exists for a few decades. She is leading the district for only 8 years. Dr. Kaplan came to the district in 1992, when a new school finance law was accepted by Kansas legislators. That meant that the SMSD would loose about 15% of its operating budget.

A local option budget (LOB) was originally allowed for one school year only. Dr. Kaplan made magic: she made the LOB available for the district for all years after that first year. However, time is passing and the district’s expenses are growing quicker than its operating budget, the growth of which has become slower than the state average.

The district’s finances became a real problem and there were options: 1) get more money from the State; 2) cut expenses not related to education; 3) cut programs; 4) close schools. Dr. Kaplan tried all four. Two schools were closed as a result.

If three schools should really be closed, Dr. Kaplan made an excellent job: with the closing of 3 schools she could make 6 bigger schools, and of 11 small schools only 2-3 small schools would be left.

Children play one last time at Cherokee

The announcement of the school closings was not welcomed by parents from the schools chosen for closing. Parents at all three of the schools, Arrowhead, Cherokee, and Nall Hills, collected enough signatures for a petition to place the question up for vote.

Parents at Arrowhead managed to save their school. Cherokee and Nall Hills are closed.

Cherokee parents had a good-by party because the chosen strategy "Cherokee is the best! Keep it Open" meant "Close other schools." As a matter of fact, closing all small schools will save only a few million dollars, and this action will not solve the financial problem.

Left: Dr. Kaplan’s address to the students at Shawnee Mission East’s Commencement Ceremony (pictured at right).

Now two schools are closed. The alleged savings of $1.8 million contributes less than 25% of total budget cuts. The problem was not solved, and in each of the upcoming years the SMSD will have a budget deficit, will cut more programs and close more elementary schools until we will have only 4-5 elementary schools of 43 schools currently open. This opinion was published in the November 2000 issue of our newspaper, and Steve Rose came to the same conclusion in one of his March 2001 memos.

We live in the real world with all its evil. At the very beginning, parents discussed what will happen if they would fight with the district’s administration to save Cherokee. Some parents said that they would transfer their children to private schools. Others said that they would move to Blue Valley, Olathe, or other school districts.

We are happy to see that nobody suffered any revenge from the district’s administration in any form. Unfortunately, revenge came from inside. As we already published in our April issue, active parents at Cherokee were split into 3 groups. Each group came to the Cherokee hearing with its own presentation. At the very beginning, at the first Coalition meeting, Cherokee parent Peter Shapiro suggested having regular meetings at the public library, publishing newspaper, and even having a web site (everything free of charge). At that time none of the parents actually knew what the school district’s financial problem really is. An open dialog between parents and administration could possible solve the problem, but this did not happen. Instead of a dialog, it was a confrontation. Steve Rose even called it a battle, and military terminology was used in local newspapers.

After December 6, 2001, the Riley/Lusk group shifted to the opposite direction from where the Coalition was going. Led by John Sanches, the Save Cherokee Coalition of Concerned Parents and Citizens (SCCCPC) went underground. Coincidentally, the abbreviation SCCCPC is interesting: in Russian letters, CCCP is equivalent to USSR. The third group, represented by the Shapiro family, ceased active involvement after the Cherokee hearing because at that time almost all active Cherokee parents belonged to the Sanches Coalition.

From December 6, 2000, when the SM Board of Education voted to close three schools, for almost 3 months nobody saw any action from the Sanches Coalition, and many Cherokee parents became nervous and wanted to do something to save Cherokee. It is sad to say, but one of those parents who spoke out against the Coalition received an anonymous nasty letter. After an unsuccessful complaint to the school administration, the mentioned parents transferred their child to another school just two months before the end of the school year because of a boycott of other children.

Cherokee is closed, and there is no reason for a confrontation between Cherokee parents who transferred their children to Pawnee other than revenge.

Cherokee and Nall Hills are closed, but the SMSD finance problem is not solved, and more schools will be closed and more programs will be cut if the State will not give more money to the district. There exist some other options, but school parents’ and patrons’ support is required.

Some Cherokee students will stay in SMSD schools for more than a decade, and their parents should be concerned with what will happen to the district.

Below is pictured the graduation ceremony at SM East High School. There were over 500 students in the Class of 2001. More than 95% of them will go to college. Some of them were accepted by the highest-selective colleges like MIT, Harvard, Stanford, etc.

Also pictured below is SMSD Superintendent Dr. Marjorie Kaplan during her address to students when she proudly congratulated them on graduating.

But what will be the case ten years from now? There is no question that there will be some 500 students, but how many of them will be well prepared for college? How many will be accepted by the highly-selective colleges?

If parents, in cooperation with local government and the SMSD administration, will help Dr. Kaplan solve the financial problem together, ten years from now parents will occupy the same seats and proudly listen to Dr. Kaplan’s congratulations to well-educated students.

The district needs help from parents and local government to solve its financial problem. We do not want to see our schools in the same shape as schools across the state line.