Proposal for Kansas City calls for more autonomy for individual schools

A consulting firm brought in by the state of Missouri has proposed a reform of the Kansas City (Mo.) district that would establish a network independent schools. The schools, as long as they excelled, would have the authority to control their classrooms and their budgets. The Kansas City Star reports that CEE-Trust, an Indianapolis-based think tank, says it is proposing not a charter school system, but a centrally controlled system that recruits strong programs to run schools their own ways. Each school that earns independence within the system would have its own board and gain control of most of its funding to choose its leadership, staff and curriculum. The Kansas City (Mo.) district has lost its accreditation and is hoping to regain provisional accreditation.