Lee’s Summit Board Approves Controversial Equity Training

The Lee’s Summit School Board has reversed an earlier decision and approved equity training for teachers and district staff.

The board voted 6-1 Wednesday to pay St. Louis-based Educational Equity Consultants $97,000 for one year of training, with an option for three more years.

The decision came a month after the board refused to approve spending for the training, prompting a frustrated Superintendent Dennis Carpenter to suggest the board consider buying out his contract. Carpenter, the first black superintendent in a largely-white district, had proposed the training to promote racial equity.

The Kansas City Star reported board members changed their minds after attending a two-day retreat during which members of the Missouri School Boards Association explained the training’s procedures.

Carpenter’s future with the district was not discussed Wednesday.