By Sara Wiercinski
Kansas City Public Schools will reopen another “mothballed” building in south KC, in time for the 2027/28 school year.
At a January 27 community engagement session, KCPS representatives shared plans to relocate the district’s elementary and secondary alternative academies to Satchel Paige School, located at 3301 E. 75th St.
The reopening is part of the voter-approved GO Bond, passed in April 2025.
Paige is a change from the initial plan, which called to relocate Success Academy at Anderson, the current secondary program at 1601 Forest Ave., to share a building with the elementary side at Success Academy at Knotts, 7301 Jackson Ave.
“The space at Satchel Paige provided an opportunity to bring two environments together,” said Francisco Litardo, KCPS’ Director of Strategic Engagement. “This decision was based on studies after the bond was passed.”
At the meeting, a dozen neighbors, school faculty and staff saw a proposed layout for the school, which includes separate, secure entrances for elementary and secondary students, along with duplicate cafeterias and outdoor spaces throughout the 14-acre campus. Paige was built in 1991, and was closed for future reuse in 2016.
“We are really not adding anything except a new corridor to this building,” said architect Shelli Ulmer of DLR Group.
Shannon Jaax, KCPS’ Officer of Bond Planning and Construction, explained that the decision to relocate to Paige was made by the administration and did not require a board vote.
“We conduct engagement sessions like this with all our sites,” said Jaax, who has been involved in KCPS repurposing efforts since 2011. “And we get some great ideas.”
“That said, we are really, really over budget,” she added.
Based on initial designs, the project cost sits at $21 million. The $15.9 million voter-approved plan would have converted Paige to African-Centered College Preparatory Academy (AC Prep), currently housed at Southeast High School.
“If you have ideas, we want to hear them,” said Jaax. “We cannot do them all, but this engagement piece helps us make important decisions.”
Success Academies are non-permanent alternative programs for students referred from their neighborhood schools. Ikeshia Miller is a social worker at Success Academy at Anderson who attended the meeting.
“Students are typically here for six months to a year. Our fastest is about 45 days.”
Miller said there are around 80 students currently in the high school program, and on any given day about 30-35 show up. The elementary site at Knotts has around 35 students currently.
Paige’s two-wing layout lends itself to separation by age. Each elementary grade will have up to two classes each, with a student-teacher ratio 10:1. There are “cool down” rooms and a welcome center to host student/parent/teacher meetings.
The district has deemed Paige’s Olympic-size swimming pool too expensive to fix and maintain. The current design calls for filling in the pool to create a second gymnasium.
A neighbor at the meeting, whose children had attended Paige, described that decision as “a waste.”
“That’s a mistake, I’m telling you. Our kids are overweight and sit around all the time. They need that pool,” he said.
Jaax invited more comments, and encouraged those interested to apply for the Design Advisory Team for the Paige site. The 10-15 member “cross section” of the community will meet periodically throughout the design phase to ensure community needs are represented.
Prior to renovations, the district will need to obtain a Special Use Permit from the City of Kansas City. Construction is anticipated to begin in fall 2026 and finish in summer 2027. The district will host additional engagement events prior to construction.
Once vacated, Knotts will become the home of AC Prep.
The meeting was held at Kansas City Police Department Metro Patrol, located half a mile west of US. Hwy 71 from Paige. Jaax concluded by thanking everyone for attending in person on a snowy district remote learning day.
After the meeting, social worker Ikeshia Miller said she felt more reassured about the move given all the security measures in place.
“We are always worried about the safety of our ‘babies’,” she said.