The Dawn of a New Era

As Southwest begins its second century, the dawn of a new era for the building is beginning. On Tuesday, April 8th, voters in the Kansas City School District overwhelmingly approved a $474 million bond issue. About 85% of the people voted yes. The money from these bonds will finance significant renovations and new construction throughout the district. Prior to the election, the school board budgeted amounts for the various projects it planned to undertake. This included $45.1 million for Southwest so that it could be opened as a middle school, which the district refers to as “South Middle School.” An additional $24.9 million was expected to be raised by the KC Public Schools Foundation by capital campaigns and other sources.

No significant amounts of money have been invested in Southwest since a few years after our graduation when a planetarium and additional classroom space was added on the south end of the building. It is assumed that a significant amount of money will be needed to upgrade electrical, plumbing, security and HVAC systems, and add various internet and IT capacity. Architectural drawings released by the district also indicate that a new gymnasium will be added at the southwest corner of the building and that upgrades will be made to the auditorium. There are also ambitious plans to add a science area to the roof of the building on the north side.

According to Rita Cortes, the Kansas City Public Schools school board chair, and Jon Hile, executive director of the KC Public Schools Foundation, bond funds would provide much needed maintenance and renovation throughout the district, along with expenses necessary to transform Southwest into a grade 6 through 8 middle school. The $24.9 million of additional money is expected to be raised by the KC Public Schools Foundation.

It is hoped that construction and renovation can begin soon enough that Southwest can be opened in the fall of 2028 with 6th grade classes only. This would allow construction and renovation work to be done on the upper floors of the school while the sixth graders would primarily use the first and second floors. In year 2, 6th and 7th graders would attend, and in all following years, the school would have 6th through 8th grades. It is anticipated that the school will have approximately 800 to 1,000 students among the three grades.

We hope you enjoyed this update on Southwest! We, the Reunion Committee, are working hard to provide a great venue for all of us to reconnect with old friends and celebrate the place that helped shape who we are today.

We can’t wait to see you the weekend of Oct 4th!
Stay tuned for the latest logistics here – https://sw75reunion.com/