February 4, 2026
Frontier Schools Leadership, Board Members, Teachers, Parents, and Interested Community Members
Dear Community,
This letter is written out of deep concern, frustration, and disappointment. In January 2026, the Kansas City Council approved an ordinance changing the location of a planned permanent detention facility to a site on Front Street, placing the facility approximately 3,000 feet from multiple Frontier School campuses. This decision was introduced and adopted on the same day, without meaningful notice to or engagement with aff ected schools, educators, parents, or surrounding communities, despite the City previously having an established community engagement process for decisions of this magnitude. Construction has since moved forward, leaving families and schools grappling with the consequences of a decision they had no opportunity to weigh in on.
Kansas City had an established community engagement process in place regarding the siting of a permanent detention facility. That process existed for a reason. It was designed to ensure transparency, public input, and accountability when decisions with serious community impact were being considered.
That process was bypassed.
As a result, children are now being asked to attend school with a jail located approximately 3,000 feet from their classrooms.
This is not an abstract policy debate.
This is not a technical zoning exercise. This is a decision that directly aff ects the daily lived experience, well-being, and development of students, educators, and families.
Parents did not receive meaningful notice.
Schools were not engaged as stakeholders.
Teachers were not consulted.
Families were not given an opportunity to raise concerns before a vote was taken and construction advanced.
The ordinance changing the site location was introduced and adopted with alarming speed, eliminating any reasonable opportunity for community awareness or participation. In doing so, the City eff ectively nullifi ed the very engagement framework it had previously committed to honoring.
When government establishes a process and then ignores it, the harm extends far beyond a single project. It erodes trust. It signals that community input is optional. And it reinforces a dangerous message that decisions aff ecting children can be made without parents, educators, or schools at the table.
The proximity of a permanent detention facility to schools also presents real and documented risks to students, including but not limited to:
● Psychological and emotional impacts - The presence of a jail near a school can normalize incarceration, heighten anxiety, and negatively aff ect students’ sense of safety and belonging. For children who already experience trauma, stress, or family involvement with the justice system, this proximity can be especially harmful.
● School climate and learning environment concerns - Research consistently shows that perceived safety and emotional security are foundational to student learning. A detention facility nearby undermines the ability of schools to maintain a calm, affi rming, and developmentally appropriate educational environment.
● Stigmatization and identity harm - Locating a jail near schools sends an implicit message about how certain neighborhoods and student populations are viewed. This is particularly concerning for students from historically marginalized communities, who already face disproportionate contact with the criminal legal system.
● Safety and operational risks - Increased law enforcement activity, transportation traffi c, and emergency responses associated with a detention facility introduce variables that schools did not consent to managing and were not consulted about.
● Family trust and enrollment consequences - Parents reasonably question whether a school environment adjacent to a jail aligns with their expectations for their children’s safety and well-being, which can aff ect enrollment stability and long-term school sustainability.
Frontier families are now left to explain to their children why a detention facility is part of their school environment. Educators are left to manage the emotional, psychological, and practical implications of that proximity without having had a voice in the decision. Students are left absorbing a lesson about whose spaces are prioritized and whose concerns are dismissed.
Whether the site technically complies with zoning requirements misses the point entirely.
The issue is not legality alone. The issue is legitimacy. The issue is process. The issue is trust.
A community engagement process that exists only when it is convenient is not engagement at all.
Therefore, we are calling on the City of Kansas City to take the following actions immediately:
1. Pause construction on the permanent detention facility to allow for a genuine, transparent, and inclusive community engagement process with aff ected schools, families, educators, and neighborhood residents.
2. If construction is not paused, commit immediately to negotiating a binding Community Benefi ts Agreement with Frontier Schools and the surrounding community. At a minimum, such an agreement must include:
a. Dedicated investments in student mental health and counseling services
b. Resources for school safety, infrastructure, and environmental mitigation
c. Ongoing communication protocols between the City, the facility, and schools
d. Clear accountability measures and enforcement mechanisms
e. Guaranteed, structured community oversight and input moving forward
3. Publicly acknowledge the failure of the engagement process and outline concrete steps the City will take to ensure that decisions impacting children, schools, and educational environments are never again made without those communities at the table.
Our children deserve better than after-the-fact explanations. ''
Our schools deserve respect as community anchors.
Our families deserve a government that honors its own processes.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Edgar Palacios,
MBA
Founder and CEO
Revolución Educativa
