While the plan for Kansas City Public Schools and Academie Lafayette to come together to create an International Baccalaureate high school for the area was a great idea, they have unfortunately already fallen through.

So, what was the straw that broke the camel’s back? Apparently, the two entities announced that the dissolution occurred because neither side could agree on where to send Southwest Early College Campus students.

Academie Lafayette board Vice President Marvin Lyman, expressed that, “we’re starting a brand new program and we want to start fresh. You can’t do that with two programs in the building.” He further contested that, “some issues need to get resolved. In the meantime, we will be looking at alternative locations.”

However, this decision does not come without opposition, as Mayor Sly James made very clear when he expressed his general disappointment in the collaboration dissolution, “I hope that all the adults involved in the process will be able to renew this attempt to do all that is possible to ensure a quality education for every child.”

The decision to create an International Baccalaureate high school comes in response to the steadily declining enrollment in their current education programs – the southwest corridor of Kansas City is home to the lowest participation rate of people choosing the school district. Many families end up moving to different districts within Kansas City in order to seek out better private school education.

Further issues in the plan were due to a lack of necessary funds – an extra $1 million to be exact. The extra cash flow would have been imperative to make the necessary renovations to hold the increased number of students.