Southwest High School–Shot Up Like the School Bus

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It’s over for Southwest High School.  The dream of being a college prep school is gone, shot up like the shots fired at the schoolbus full of football players several days ago. And who fired the gun? The Kansas City School District. Again.

Last week the Kansas City Star reported that the area partners for the school (Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, Donnelly College, KC Area Life Sciences Institute, PREP-KC and UMKC) announced they were pulling their support from the school next year.  Why?  Conditions at the school no longer exist to continue as an early college school. What started out so promising four years ago, and was succeeding until last year, is in ruins.  And once again, it’s the students who suffer.

Every $#*% time I hear board members and KCMO school adminstrators talk about how ‘the community’ needs to get involved with the district, how ‘all of us’ have to create a better public schools in the city, I think of Southwest. Southwest High did exactly that:  it started with a team of dedicated staff,  parents, and students  who wanted to beat the odds and make this KCMO public school work.  Students could earn college credits.  Tutoring was available. Teachers were screened and chosen specificially to follow the challenging curriculum plan.  Students and parents had to sign contracts outlining what was expected of both parties. It was working.

Then last year, former superintendent Dr Covington closed Westport High and flooded Southwest with kids who didn’t have the same drive to learn as the college prep students.  It was overcrowded; chaos on a daily basis.  Early college prep teachers were let go and replaced with other teachers not as motivated to stick to the plan. Conferences and contracts with students and parents weren’ t being enforced. Community volunteers were asked to leave their assignments. It became just another badly managed KCMO public school.

And now the partners are pulling out.  Who can blame them? If the district, the teachers, the students, the parents aren’t going to support what was working, aren’t going to support the specific goal of that school–why bother trying to create something the district obviously won’t support?

What will happen to Southwest High School?  Principal Ed Richardson will probably resign.  The college prep courses will be gone. The highly motivated students who want to learn will leave for other schools.  And Southwest will become a teenage daycare facility, graduating kids that don’t meet the minimum learning standards.

The Kansas City School District can only blame themselves for this fiasco. The community gave the school district the support and the tools to make Southwest work–and the school district killed it.

 

Don’t Split Brookside in Half–The Proposed Redistricting Boundaries

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You may have heard about it on the news…perhaps you didn’t pay much attention…but Brookside is about to be split into two different council districts,  represented by two different City Council persons.  How does this affect you?   Read on…

Currently, the Brookside area is in District 4, represented (very well)  by Jan Marcason. (You can see the proposed map here, good luck figuring it out.  Why can’t the committee members draw a map that translates well on the internet AND has the actual street boundaries written at the bottom of the map’s key?? ) Roughly, the current north/south boundary is from downtown to 79th St.  New census population figures support a redistricting of the boundaries…the 4th district would extend north into Briarcliff and stop at 59th St, effectively splitting Brookside in half.  The 6th district would begin at 59th and continue south way past 435 and east past James A Reed Road.

Redistricting boundaries also means redistrubing political power as well, because of how your tax dollars are divided up in the neighborhood and commercial areas of the district.  Redistricting is necessary to keep the population distribution somewhat equal between districts, and so that minority residents are properly represented.  How elected officials from each district respond to the needs of the residents, including how public money is requested for and spent in that district, is of concern to everyone.

The Brookside area is known for it’s politically active residents.  Neighbors  work together to pressure the city for public funds to keep the area appealing to residents and future home buyers.  We contact our council rep when problems pop up regarding infastructure and demand repairs.  We are a very active voting block during elections.  Splitting Brookside in half could create problems gettiing tax dollars for the area as a cohesive neighborhood.  If two separate council persons are working on behalf of one neighborhood, it could appear that the Brookside area is requesting too many public dollars, too many improvement projects, more PIAC funds than other areas.

Recent public meetings brought out residents opposed to the proposed map.  An alternative map, outlining different boundaries for the 6th district was proposed but not considered.  You can bet there is quite a bit of political back door dealings going on with the current map if other proposals are not even being seriously examined.

The City Council meets today, as of this writing the agenda is not published but I assume the redistricting  issue will be up for discussion and possibly a vote.  It would be a stab in the heart of Brookside, one of Kansas City’s most cherished and politically active neighborhoods, to have it split in half, represented by two different council persons.

New Listing! 708 E Gregory, Kansas City MO

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All buyers are looking for ‘a good deal’ these days…and this house delivers!  Check out my new listing at 708 E Gregory, just east of Holmes.

708 E Gregory

This charming stone and stucco 2 story home offers three bedrooms and one and a half baths,a formal living room and dining room, an office nook off the living room and  a cozy breakfast room next to the kitchen.  The basement walls have been freshly painted with DryLock, there’s a newer roof and sump pump, plus half the basement is finished. The seller just installed a new electrical box and is providing a one year home warranty.

The backyard is partially fenced, and features a patio outside the back door.  There’s space for a second car next to the one car garage.

Lots of light fills this home, it’s close to Brookside, Waldo and UMKC.  Oh, and the price?  Just $149,000!

708 E Gregory, Kansas City MO 64131.  Contact me for a personal tour!  mary.hutchison@prukc.com

708 E Gregory

Free Energy Conservation Workshop in Waldo

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Quick!  Before the weather turns really cold!  Attend the free Energy Conservation Workshop this Saturday, Oct 22 at Habitat ReStore, 303 W 79th St, 9:30-11:30am.  You’ll learn easy ways to save energy in your home–some free, some low cost.  There will also be information about other programs and incentives available to you.  Space is limited, you can register at:

www.marc.org/habitat

Also this weekend, the final Waldo Community Market at Hale Cook Elementary, 72cd and Pennsylvania, Saturday Oct 22 at 8am.

September-Home Sales Stats for Brookside and Armour Hills

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Hello fellow Armour Hills residents, here are home sales statistics for the month of September 2011 for our subdivsion in Brookside, followed by my personal comments:

September, 2011
Four homes sold, with an average of 89 days on market.  Average list price was $226,600; average sales price was $217,375.  Five homes went under contract in September.

September, 2010
Three homes sold, with an average of 54 days on market.  Average list price was $269,967; average sales price $263,000.

Let’s compare the main Brookside zip code, 64113, from last year to this year:

September, 2011 – 64113
Fifteen homes sold, with an average of 149 days on market. Average list price was $243,170; average sales price was $229,843.  Fifteen homes went under contract in September.

September, 2010 –  64113
Thirteen homes sold, with an average of 167 days on  market.  Average list price was $359,112; average sales price was $343,806.

Comments:
About the same number of homes are closing and going under contract, but prices are falling.  Depressed prices can be attributed to many things:  less expensive homes going on the  market, the impact of low foreclosure pricing, and sellers who must sell and keep lowering the price to attract a buyer.  The good news is  this area is still desirable for sellers; the negative news is the falling home prices.  However, in an area like Brookside and Armour Hills, prices can range from $150K to over $500,000.  For true comparables, one has to compare specific features and locations that can vary block by block.

Would you like market statistics on your neighborhood?  Email me with details and I will send them your way!
All information taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

How Does the KCMO School District Affect Brookside Home Sales?

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Like most places, Kansas City MO offers pros and cons for potential  home buyers.  So many of the city’s amenities are here:  the Country Club Plaza, Power and Light entertainment district, several museums and theaters, the stunning new Kaufman Center for the Performing Arts, Stowers Institute, the University of Missouri Kansas City..and more.  You can live in a condo downtown, or in a charming 1920s bungalow in Brookside.  Negatives include a high crime rate,  an earnings tax and the KCMO public school system, which once again is in danger of losing it’s accreditation.

Last week, the Kansas City Star featured a front page story “Housing Market Reflects School Woes”.  This story focused on a Brookside couple who has been trying to sell their house for over a year, and emphasized how the school district’s problems will even further spurn buyers away  from buying their home.

Wrong.

As a Brookside resident and agent who sells many homes in the area, I am actually  amazed at how Brookside remains a very desirable location for home buyers, despite the reputation of the public schools. The majority of buyers for this area already know the troubled history of the school district but want to live here anyway.  Buyers appreciate the older homes,and tall,mature trees, the ability to walk to Brookside shops and restaurants, the Trolley  Track Trail …they like the friendliness of the neighbors, the proximity to the Plaza, museums, the Crossroads district and downtown.  Many buyers are single, newly married with no children, or empty nesters moving in from bland suburbia. There are families with children here–who attend private schools or the excellent French immersion charter school, Academie Layfayette. Some do attend KCMO public schools.

Of course it would be better for Brookside residents if  the  school  district had an excelllent reputation.   And it’s true that some buyers specifically bypass the area due to the  public schools. But it’s a tribute to the local homeowners and business owners who keep Brookside one of the best places to live in the city.  The reason that house hasn’t sold in over a year  isn’t solely due to the poor school system. I’m guessing it’s a challenging location, priced too high, or needs much updating. Even if the school system improves–the house itself has to be desirable, not just the location.

Who Doesn’t Need a Financial Planner?

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As part of my Brookside networking, I like to profile various business owners and shops that I think deserve extra attention.  Recently I profiled Daren  Teghtmeyer with American Family Insurance, 8043 Wornall. Because this week is Financial Planning week, today I wanted to focus on Financial Security Advisors, a small, locally owned financial planning firm in Prairie Village. They have been in business over fifteen years.

Financial planning…probably sounds tedious and boring to some, exciting and intriguing to others.  I’m in the first category–yes, I need to pay attention to this task, now more than ever.  If you think the same thing–it’s worth it to check out someone who lives finance every day.

Sandi Weaver runs this office with a very personal touch for all of the firm’s clients.  They are a fee-based firm, charging 1% of the client’s portfolio. (The advantage of using a fee-based firm is this: the planners aren’t inclined  to slant their advice in order to get a commission up front or  a back-end fee.  Fee only means the firm gets money from clients only, not from financial institutions or fund companies.) They are a comprehensive planning firm, not just investment management. They will work with you on retirement projections, review your insurance, investments, suggest tax strategies, and help you plan for college costs and prepare for estate planning.  They meet personally with each client twice a year to keep up with your plan and make changes as necessary.  And they are small–five people in the office, all experts in their various fields supporting all of the customers.

I asked Sandi what are some of their big challenges as a firm, especially these past couple of years as the stock market see saws back and forth, up and down.  She remarked  there are more SEC regulations to be aware of, a bit more hand-holding at times for nervous customers.  Overall, though, it’s a challenge to get  clients to cut back on spending and following the plan after they retire.  Savings and investments have to last decades longer than they used to–it’s tempting to start spending from that large chunk of money you’ve saved for years and years–after all, you deserve it, right?  But to make the money last, stay on the budget you’ve set for yourself so that the money pile doesn’t run out too early.  Another challenge is getting people to make the committment to use a financial planner before it’s too late.  Waiting until you are well into your 50s doesn’t leave that much time to invest and save as much as you may need to retire comfortably or start paying college tuition for multiple children.  When you get all your finances and investments in order early on in your career–and create a plan–you will more easily reach your goals.

A recent study of 401K accounts provided evidence that workers who get professional financial help get higher returns on their investments than those handling their own investment choices – by an average of 3%.

Sandi Weaver and her team in Prairie Village

If you are thinking of interviewing financial planners, Sandi offers these tips: Compare firms and find out exactly what you get for their services.  Compare fees–lay out  your investments  and ask, what would your fees be if I hired you?  FInd out how long they have been in business and what are their qualifications and special designations. What is the rate of return? Ask for references.  When you call in with questions, who will you talk to ?  Do you feel comfortable with the person you are speaking with?

Working with a financial planner is something that takes a bit of time…but you will be glad you did it when your investments are professionally handled.  With the economy still shaky, who knows for how long? — it will pay off to know your financial assets are being used to help you reach your goals.  You can find additional resources and tips at www.fpakc.org.

Rockhill Gardens in Brookside–A Favorite Neighborhood

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When prospective customers ask me about living in Brookside, I often give them a short verbal tour of the area:  average prices for certain areas, where you can get the most bang for your buck.  Rockhill Gardens is one of those subdivisions I love to talk about.  

Most of the RG homes are bordered between Gregory and 75th, Oak to Holmes.  There are some RG homes east of Holmes Rd, those are generally lower priced than the homes to the west. Napoleon W Dible (1872-1960) was the man who started this subdivision in 1929.  He wanted ‘affordable, well-built homes’ and sold thousands of homes in the area at a low profit.  Inspired by Tudor mansions in England, Dible added many of those characteristics to his homes in RG:  arched doorways, gabled roofts, detailed moldings, brick, stucco and stone exteriors.  He was one of the first speculator builders–that is, he built homes first before he had buyers.

Dible knew that although it was the man (and only the man!) who signed the sales contract, it was the woman who made the final decision on the house.  He added special touches that appealed to women, such as built-in ironing boards, colored tiles in the baths, and curved walkways in front.  Most of the homes had a side or back porch and were about 1500 square feet.  Most of the kitchens were small, and some still are unless there’s been a major renovation.  That’s always puzzled me, how kitchens in the 20s and 30s were so small, yet maids and wives spent so much time in the kitchen cooking from scratch! Ah, but times were different then, with the larger formal dining rooms for leisurely dinners … that seems like an indulgence now.

The reason I like to show off Rockhill Gardens to prospective buyers is this:  you generally get more space for your money here than in other Brookside neighborhoods.  Often the garages are attached, which isn’t common for Brookside, and bedrooms are larger.  Many RG homes have finished basements.  And it has an active homes association, with organized events and get togethers for the residents. A typical, updated 3 bedroom, 2 bath Rockhill Gardens home should be priced under $250,000.  The location is great, close to the Brookside shops but also walking distance to the Trolley Track Trail, the Waldo Library, locally owned restaurants and shops, insurance agents, Academie Lafayette school, florist, bike shop–just about every convenience a homeowner would want.

If you plan to shop for  a Brookside home, be sure to check out what’s available in Rockhill Gardens.  Compare pricing with some of the other area subdivisions and see that you will get the desirable Old World charm in a well-built home for a reasonable price!

Touring Lincoln Prep High School

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Living in Brookside…and living with the Kansas City MO school district.  It amazes me how Brookside homes  have retained their value, how many people want to move into this neighborhood, despite the reputation of the KCMO school district.

As a real estate agent, the subject of schools often comes up with buyers.  So  many newly married couples move to Brookside and then once the kids get close to school age, the For Sale sign goes up and they pack up  for Johnson County.  Some of this is probably due to the houses itself:  parents want more room to accommodate all the kid stuff, their playmates, they want a large yard and/or a finished basement. But over the past several years, there are alternatives to the local public school — the charter schools of University Academy and Academie Lafayette. When it comes time for high school..that’s a more difficult question.

Lincoln Prep has an excellent reputation so I recently toured the school to see for myself.  The building is older, built in the 1930s.  It’s located closer to the central city  (2111 Woodlawn) than the Brookside area, but the grounds are neat and the building itself is attractive from the outside. Walking in the front door, you do have to pass through a metal detector.

Our tour guides were two students–very friendly and knowledgeable about the school.  As we toured the building, we observed several classes, visited the cafeteria, the gym, the auditorium.  The halls were quiet, students listening attentively in the classrooms.  The student body is very diverse–many nations represented, some artsy kids with dyed hair and dreadlocks.  No uniforms–even the vice principal said he wished they had a uniform policy–but there is a dress code.  The kids don’t have a homeroom or study periods.  It’s straight classes from 7:25am-2:40pm.

When I asked Joh Richard, Vice Principal, why he thought Lincoln Prep students did so much better than other KCMO high school kids he said it’s because the kids have to test to get into the school, and they have to maintain a certain grade point average.  So these kids are more focused, more serious about their studies, and feel the competition and drive from their peers.  Another interesting remark he made was that the teachers must assign homework at least three days a week–just a few years ago, homework was optional. Curiculum includes four years of math, english and science, plus at least one hundred service hours are required for graduation.  Sports are offered, along with band, debate, ROTC and drama.  There are currently four or five Teach for America teachers at the school, all replaced retiring faculty.

Overall, I was impressed with the school.  Their reputation seems well deserved.  It’s a tragedy of sorts that Southwest High in Brookside was on such a great path to be a college prep school before it was combined with Westport High–police report they are still called to the school on a regular basis.  Not true at Lincoln. Why is it that the KCMO school district can only offer one academically excellent school? Residents want good public schools in their neighborhoods–they don’t want to have to drive 20 minutes to get to a ‘good’ public high school.

There is a good public high school option for Brookside residents…if you want diversity and a longer drive.