For too long, abandoned and vacant school buildings have littered our neighborhoods. The blight and disinvestment they bring casts a shadow not only on our communities, but also on the academic prospects of the students within them. When we stand united with our city and elected leaders, we will create Requests For Proposal for the redevelopment of each vacant building in the school district's care. We will accomplish this by forming a joint taskforce of city officials, district officials, development professionals and neighborhood leaders tasked with developing an RFP for every vacant building comprised of the best offer the district can make and the best incentives package the city can bring. Before being released, these RFPs will be vetted by the neighborhood leaders in whose boundaries these buildings sit to ensure that the types of uses being incentivized are in sync with the wishes of their neighbors.

Recreation and physical development are vital components of primary and secondary education. For too long, many of our students have not had playgrounds and have instead been asked to recess on what amount to dilapidated asphalt parking lots. During his time on PIAC, airick pushed for the funding of several playgrounds on school district property -- and when the funding was complete, he was there to do the hard work of installing the equipment as well. Once elected, airick will take up this cause with renewed energy.

As we transition back to neighborhood schools, many of our students will begin walking to school. Unfortunately, the sidewalks and curbs adjacent to many of our schools are in states of significant disrepair creating a safety concern for our families. During his time on PIAC airick, in partnership with several other PIAC representatives, advocated for a city policy of prioritizing the repair of sidewalks near our schools. What was a good idea then is an absolutely essential public policy now. When we stand unified with the city, airick will work with current PIAC leaders to push this concept into policy.

KCMO's Parks & Recreation department is an award winning institution that provides exceptional services for residents and visitors alike. With its massive portfolio of facilities and park land, P&R is a natural partner for the district. Already, minor agreements exist for partnering around swimming pools and football fields. But so much more is possible when we stand together. Airick will lead this effort by calling for bi-annual joint gatherings of the Parks & Recreation board and regular joint staff meetings to explore fiscal efficiencies and additional services for our youth.

A solid education should open doors of opportunity for students that achieve. One way of pushing wide the door of opportunity is through internships. When elected, airick will work to forge a partnership with the City Manager's office such that top high school students will be given opportunities to intern in key areas of municipal governance.

Transparency is a fundamental component of effective governance. Broadcasting school board meetings on channel 2, the local government channel, would significantly increase the number of people able to learn about the school board's efforts on behalf of our children. This added layer of accessibility increases transparency and ultimately increases accountability as well.