Take Action

Take Action

Seven steps, in order of impact. Start at the top, today.

Step 1Today

Email the Board and the superintendent

Lead with the Board's own goal. On August 10, 2026 it voted 7–0 to "Complete a K–12 World Language program evaluation and present recommendations." Ask that the evaluation, the district's savings estimate and a side-by-side comparison with a sunset be presented in public before any staffing step, and that students already enrolled get a funded path. Early letters matter most: the annotated agenda goes to Board members at least two calendar days before each regular meeting. 2 3 4

Write in your own words. A short, specific, respectful message from a parent beats a copied one. Lead with the request. Do not include another family's child's information.

Proposal

The ask, in one sentence

"Before any staffing step, please complete and publish the K–12 World Language evaluation the Board set as its own 2026–27 goal, with the district's net-savings figure and a side-by-side comparison that lets students already enrolled finish."

Send it to the whole Board and the superintendent

Toboe@bluevalleyk12.org, gkchapman@bluevalleyk12.org, JKessinger@bluevalleyk12.org, cnorkey@bluevalleyk12.org, dbenson@bluevalleyk12.org, sevans@bluevalleyk12.org, gknapp@bluevalleyk12.org, jdietz@bluevalleyk12.org, PHurley@bluevalleyk12.org
Cckljune@bluevalleyk12.org, mrclark@bluevalleyk12.org

Open in your email app

boe@bluevalleyk12.org is the Board's published address and reaches every member. 5 The individual Board-member addresses in the To line were circulated by parents and are not printed on the district pages reviewed; confirm them before relying on them. Each address and its status is listed under “Every Board member and district contact.”

Letter template (edit it to your situation)

Proposal

Subject: Finish the Board's World Language evaluation before cutting Chinese

Dear Board Members and Superintendent,

On August 10, 2026 the Board approved, 7–0, a 2026–27 goal to "Complete a K–12 World Language program evaluation and present recommendations to improve program opportunities, enrollment and operational efficiency." No evaluation has been presented in public, yet families have been told that elementary and middle-school Chinese will end after this school year. Please complete and publish that evaluation, with its cost model and alternatives, before any irreversible staffing step.

The district has published no savings figure. At the October 14 roundtable the superintendent was reported to say the change would save about nine teacher positions if students returned to their neighborhood schools, and that staffing would stay the same if families stay. Many of us intend to stay. Please publish the district's 2027–28 net-savings estimate, including its assumption about how many families stay, the costs that continue, and transition costs.

Our preferred remedy is no-new-entry grandfathering: let current students finish elementary immersion and continue appropriately leveled Chinese Language Arts through middle school, with written high-school placement rules. If that is rejected, please compare it publicly with a daily Mandarin block for current K–5 students and a middle-school Chinese Language Arts elective, using the same students and years, and present the least disruptive funded alternative. Please also identify who authorized the cancellation and under which policy or delegation, and tell families the placement-form deadline and what staying covers.

Thank you for a transparent, student-centered review.

[Your name]

Talking points: pick the one or two that fit you
  1. We understand the district faces real tradeoffs and must provide required services to all students.
  2. The Board's own 2026–27 goal is a K–12 World Language evaluation with recommendations. Please finish and publish it before cutting. 2 3
  3. Please show current avoidable net savings and the assumed share of families who stay, not historical gross program costs. 6 1
  4. Please reconcile the published K–12 pathway and Valley Park sunset with ending elementary and middle-school instruction in 2027–28. 7 8
  5. The 2023 recommendation was Board-approved 4–3. Please identify any later amendment or approval that authorized the 2026 cancellation, and the policy or delegation it relied on. 9 10
  6. Compare no-new-entry grandfathering, a daily Mandarin block and a middle-school elective on the same students and years. Our estimates are a starting point to correct.
  7. School stability matters, but staying in the building does not replace lost instruction. 8
  8. Give families written transfer, feeder and placement terms, and an accessible transition plan. 11
Questions for the Board (put one in your letter, or hand in the list)
  1. Does the April 2023 rule that "Teacher salaries and benefits may not be privately funded" still bind? By what instrument, and does it reach a Board-accepted restricted gift to the general fund, a gift for non-salary program costs, or a vendor-employed instructor? 6
  2. Does the 2023 rule that Mandarin "will occur within the assigned times of the elementary instructional school day" still express the Board's intent for current students? 6
  3. Does the 2026–27 teachers' agreement approved on October 12 say anything about subcontracting, virtual instruction, specialists or program staff, and will the district post it? 12
  4. Will the administration re-price Options B and D from the February 2023 evaluation for 2027–28 with current cohorts: minutes per week, FTE, sites, and whether the $124,000 and $19,000 figures included salary? 13
  5. What are the current elementary specials minutes per week, which schools have the K–5 Spanish special, and could former-immersion classes take Mandarin in that slot? 14
  6. For 2027–28, will former-immersion students be grouped at their current site or dispersed, and how many Mandarin-licensed teachers will remain employed, in what assignments?
  7. Will the district keep a 1.0 Mandarin elective in middle school for current Chinese Language Arts students, and what is the minimum enrollment? 15
  8. Would the Board accept a restricted gift under Policy KH for the non-salary costs of an in-day Mandarin special or elective, and on what conditions (universal access, no donor priority, multi-year)? 16 17
  9. Would the Board consider a community-funded-position policy like Shawnee Mission's 2025 policy, and if not, is the reason equity, labor or the 2023 rule? 18
  10. Would the district consider sharing a licensed Mandarin teacher with another district, or a restricted-license heritage-speaker hire for world language? 19
  11. Would an approved online Mandarin course in a middle-school elective period, with a licensed Blue Valley monitor, be considered under Policy ID, and what would be required of the provider's teacher? 20 10
Every Board member and district contact

Board, superintendent and staff names and roles are verified on district pages. Addresses marked “Confirm address” were circulated by parents and are not printed on the district pages reviewed. boe@bluevalleyk12.org reaches the whole Board. 5

Step 2No deadline posted · treat as urgentUnknown

Staying at your school? Tell the district now

As reported by KCTV5 (a news account), the superintendent said cancelling "would save nine teacher positions if students returned to their neighborhood schools," and that if families stay at their current schools "staffing would remain the same." Every transfer family that stays reduces the real savings. If you intend to stay, say so now on the School Placement Preference Form; it shows no deadline. This is about returning to a neighborhood school within Blue Valley, not leaving the district, and staying does not keep Chinese classes. 1 11 8

Our reading

The reported savings depend on where students go. If transfer families keep their children at their current schools, the district has said staffing stays the same; if they return to neighborhood schools, about nine teacher positions could go. So every family that intends to stay and says so on the placement form shows the district the real numbers. It is each family's decision, staying is about a neighborhood school within Blue Valley rather than leaving the district, and staying does not keep Chinese instruction or guarantee any continuation. 1 8 11

The form is the district's own: the School Placement Preference Form. Its only election is to remain at the current school "for the 2027-28 school year." Its companion FAQ answer (question 6) says transfer students may remain or return to their home school, and that only families who want to remain submit it. 11 8

Avoid / caution

Keep it honest

Staying does not keep Chinese classes, and submitting the form does not guarantee any continuation. The form shows no deadline, so treat it as urgent and ask the district for the date. Later grades, the feeder middle school, siblings and transportation are not stated in writing. It is each family's decision. 11 8

Questions to ask the district, in writing, before or when you submit
  1. What is the deadline for the School Placement Preference Form?
  2. Does staying at the current school for 2027–28 also cover later elementary grades?
  3. Which middle school will a student who stays be assigned to?
  4. Can younger siblings attend the same school, and on what terms?
  5. Will transportation be provided? Under the 2023 plan, families were responsible for it. 26
  6. Is there an appeal process for placement decisions?
  7. Does choosing to stay affect any continuity request a family makes?

The FAQ names Kelly June as the contact for world-language questions. 8 The family and transfer details page explains what is confirmed and what is not.

Step 3Before Nov 9

Ask a Board member to put it on the agenda

The superintendent compiles the agenda with the Board president, and other Board members may request items. Parents cannot force one. Ask a member to request that the World Language evaluation and a continuity comparison be presented. 4

Policy BCBD says the superintendent and Board president compile the agenda, and other Board members may request items. No member of the public can force one. The annotated agenda goes to members at least two calendar days before a regular meeting, so a request has to land well before November 9. 4

When you write to a Board member (step 1), add one line: "Will you request that the World Language evaluation and a continuity comparison be placed on an upcoming agenda?" A Board member who wants to act has a ready-made motion below.

A motion a Board member could offer (draft)

Proposal

Study-and-preserve-options motion

"I move that the Board direct the superintendent to complete the K–12 World Language program evaluation adopted in the 2026–27 District Goals and to present it publicly within 30 calendar days of adoption of this motion, together with a current-cohort Chinese continuity comparison using the same 2026–27 enrolled students and annual time horizon for every alternative: (1) the announced cancellation baseline; (2) no-new-entry continuation through elementary and appropriately leveled middle-school Chinese Language Arts; (3) additional feasible site, grade or timetable clustering beyond consolidation already approved; and (4) a district-supervised daily Mandarin block for current elementary students and a middle-school Chinese Language Arts elective.

For each alternative, the administration shall state: the responsible decision-making authority; instructional hours and placement and credit pathway; aggregate cohort counts; the assumed share of transfer families remaining at their current schools; incremental staffing and qualified-staff availability; costs that cease, continue or are reassigned; transition costs; funding assumptions; access and transportation; annual net operating cost; and the earliest decision that would foreclose it. Unknown inputs shall be identified, not replaced with unsupported precision.

Pending that presentation, the administration shall preserve feasible continuation options to the extent permitted by existing law, contracts and appropriations. This direction does not guarantee employment, alter collective-bargaining terms, or authorize unappropriated spending."

This is a study motion, not a funded restoration. The Board uses its own agenda and legal-review procedures.

Step 4Sign-up opens Nov 6 · noon · expectedConditional

Speak at Open Forum on Nov 9

About ten in-person speakers, three minutes each. Requests close at noon on meeting day, or earlier when the slots fill. Coordinate so each speaker covers a different point, and hand in the Board brief in writing. 27 28

Documented

The next regular Board meeting is Monday, November 9, 2026, 5:30 p.m. CST, in the District Office Board Room, 15020 Metcalf. The district page lists doors opening at 5:15. Recheck the live page before attending. 27

Documented

Open Forum allows about ten in-person speakers for three minutes each (30 minutes total). The request form opens at noon one business day before the meeting and closes at noon on meeting day, or earlier when capacity is reached. Only the district's confirmation email reserves a slot; substitutions and yielding time are not allowed. 27 28

Policy BCBI requires speakers to give their names, their children's school affiliations, and the name of any group they speak for. Open Forum is public input, not a debate, so do not expect an answer on the spot. 28 If several parents speak, divide the topics so each speaker adds something: the Board's own evaluation goal, authority and Policy ID, student continuity, the money and our estimates, the in-school-day alternatives, and the specific motion requested. Hand the Board brief and any longer material in writing to boe@bluevalleyk12.org. 5

Three-minute script (edit it to your situation)

Proposal

Draft remarks

"My name is [name], and I am a parent at [school]. Thank you for considering current Chinese immersion students. We understand that Blue Valley must make difficult budget choices.

In August this Board set itself a goal: complete a K–12 World Language evaluation and present recommendations. We ask you to finish it, and publish it, before anything is cut.

The district has published no savings figure. We were told, as reported, that cutting saves about nine teacher positions only if students leave their current schools, and that staffing stays the same if we stay. Many of us are staying. Please publish the real net savings, with that assumption stated.

Our request is narrow: compare a no-new-entry pathway for current students, a daily Mandarin block, and a middle-school Chinese Language Arts elective against cancellation, on the same students and years. We have put our own estimates in writing so you can correct them. If full continuity is rejected, please explain why and offer the least disruptive funded alternative. Thank you."

Step 5This week

Share this site with other immersion families

Many consistent, respectful voices carry more weight than one. Send the link to your class, your grade and your school community, and tell families who plan to stay to submit the placement form.

Forward the link, post it in your class and grade groups, and ask one other family to do the same. Keep the tone the way you'd want a Board member to hear it: calm, specific, united.

Proposal

A line you can paste

"If you plan to stay at your school next year, submit the placement form now. It shows the district the real numbers."

Step 6November · date not postedConditional

Watch for the November advisory-committee discussion

The Board heard on October 12 that its Academic & Activities advisory committee will discuss language programming "next month." Advisory committees are where an evaluation would normally be reviewed. Ask the district when it meets and whether the World Language evaluation will be presented there. 29 2

Board advisory committees meet in public and their minutes are attached to later Board agendas. Ask the district office or a Board member for the November date, and whether the World Language evaluation will be presented. If parents can attend, bring the Board brief. 29 2

Step 7Any time · a slower lever

Contact your state legislators

The district names special-education underfunding as one reason for the change. Kansas law computes that aid at 92% of excess costs, subject to appropriation, and the Division of the Budget reports the 2026–27 appropriation covers about 65.3% of those costs. A real pressure, but fixing it in Topeka takes longer than a Board decision. 8 30 31

If you raise it, use the figures as the sources state them: the statute computes state aid at 92% of excess costs, subject to appropriation; the Division of the Budget reports the 2026–27 appropriation covers about 65.3% of those excess costs; and Blue Valley reports moving more than $16 million from its general fund in 2025 to cover the gap, projected at $18 million for 2026. Say "state aid covers about 65% of excess costs," never "the state funds only 65% of special education." The figures, and the competing calculation you may hear in reply, are on the Money page. 30 31 32

Find your legislators, and the list

Which legislators are yours?

Blue Valley spans several House and Senate districts. Yours depends on your home address.

Find my legislators ↗

List as published by the district. 33 Address lookup by the Kansas Legislature. 34

Kansas House

Kansas Senate

Letter and 30-second phone script

Proposal

Letter to a legislator (draft)

Subject: Please fund special education at the level Kansas law sets

Dear [Representative/Senator last name],

I am your constituent and a Blue Valley parent. Kansas law computes special-education state aid at 92% of excess costs, subject to appropriation (K.S.A. 72-3422). The Division of the Budget reports that the 2026–27 appropriation of $617.0 million will cover about 65.3% of those costs. Blue Valley reports that it moved more than $16 million from its general fund to special education in 2025, and projects $18 million for 2026.

I know some argue that local-option-budget dollars should also count. Most of that money is raised from local property taxes, and the statute's 92% refers to state aid.

Blue Valley has cited special-education underfunding, among other budget pressures, in announcing that elementary and middle-school Chinese will end in 2027–28. Please make special-education funding a priority this session.

Sincerely, [Your name] [Home address and ZIP, so the office can confirm you are a constituent]

Proposal

30-second phone script (draft)

"Hello, my name is [name], and I'm a constituent in [ZIP]. I'm asking [legislator] to prioritize special-education funding. State law computes state aid at 92% of excess costs, subject to appropriation. The Division of the Budget says this year's state aid covers about 65%. Blue Valley reports moving more than $16 million from its general fund to cover the gap, and it has cited budget pressures in ending elementary and middle-school Chinese. Thank you."

Records: already requested

Parents in the group have filed two open-records requests. Please don't duplicate them. How records requests work, and what they can and cannot do, is on the Board authority and process page.

R-1Filed Oct 14, 2026Awaiting district response

The cancellation decision: money, alternatives, authority and transition

What it asks for (8 items)
  • Financial analyses and budget models used to justify cancellation: projected annual net savings, costs that continue or are reassigned, transition costs, and how the savings relate to the district's projected shortfall
  • Spending, budgets and staffing for elementary and middle-school Chinese, 2023–24 through 2026–27, by school, job category, FTE and funding source
  • The complete April 25, 2023 task-force data report and any final 2022–23 actual-expense report
  • Any analyses of alternatives: letting current cohorts finish, closing new enrollment only, staffing changes, consolidation, keeping middle-school Chinese Language Arts
  • Recommendations, presentations, minutes, Board actions, policies or delegations documenting who recommended and approved the cancellation, plus the 2023 consolidation approval
  • Decision-related emails and messages from January 1 to October 14, 2026, for an initial set of four officials: the superintendent, the chief financial officer, the chief of academic services and the Board president
  • Enrollment, application, waitlist and withdrawal reports since 2023–24, and aggregate proficiency, outcome and program-evaluation reports (no identifiable student records)
  • Transition plans for current students: continued language development, middle-school completion, high-school placement and credit, AP Chinese preparation, and the effect on future high-school enrollment

Asked for an itemized fee estimate before any charges, rolling production with financial and approval records first, and preservation of relevant records.

R-2Filed Oct 14, 2026Awaiting district response

Enrollment agreements and commitments made to families

What it asks for (4 items)
  • Every version of any enrollment agreement, commitment form or acknowledgment used for Chinese immersion since the program began (blank templates preferred)
  • Which entering cohorts each version applied to, and who approved it, including any Board action or delegation
  • A redacted sample where no blank template exists, showing the terms but no family information
  • Any records addressing whether those commitments were considered in the October 2026 cancellation decision

Asked for a fee estimate before charges and preservation of responsive records.

These requests are already pending, so please don't file duplicates; that slows the response for everyone. If you need a record that isn't on this list, ask the group first so one targeted request can cover it. Responses will be summarized here after a privacy review.

The district must act on a request by the end of the third business day after receiving it. That is a deadline for a response, not necessarily for full production. 35 A records request reaches only records that already exist; it cannot make the district create a new analysis. 36 35 36

Sources on this page

  1. Blue Valley to eliminate Chinese immersion program (KCTV5 report on the October 14, 2026 roundtable) KCTV5 (news report; secondary source) · retrieved 2026-10-15 · W020 in library
  2. 2026-27 District Goals (presented July 20, 2026; revised draft approved August 10, 2026) Blue Valley USD 229 / BoardBook Premier · retrieved 2026-10-15 · W016 in library
  3. Regular Board of Education Meeting, August 10, 2026 — minutes page (item E.3, 2026-27 District Goals) Blue Valley USD 229 / BoardBook Premier · retrieved 2026-10-15 · W017 in library
  4. Blue Valley USD 229 Policy BCBD — Agenda Blue Valley Unified School District 229 / KASB policy portal · retrieved 2026-10-14 · L019 in library
  5. Open Forum instructions (October 12, 2026 agenda attachment) Blue Valley USD 229 Board of Education · retrieved 2026-10-14 · L018 in library
  6. Elementary Chinese Immersion Task Force Requested Data Report Blue Valley Schools USD 229; Internet Archive replay · retrieved 2026-10-15 · P008 in library
  7. Elementary School Chinese Immersion Blue Valley Unified School District 229 · retrieved 2026-10-15 · P001 in library
  8. Frequently Asked Questions | World language programming Blue Valley School District · retrieved 2026-10-15 · P022 in library
  9. November 13, 2023 meeting documents API and embedded agenda/minutes Blue Valley Schools USD 229 / Diligent Community · retrieved 2026-10-15 · P003 in library
  10. Blue Valley USD 229 Policy ID — Instructional Program Blue Valley Unified School District 229 / KASB policy portal · retrieved 2026-10-14 · L029 in library
  11. School Placement Preference Form Blue Valley School District · retrieved 2026-10-15 · P015 in library
  12. Board of Education agenda, October 12, 2026 (compensation items) Blue Valley USD 229 / BoardBook Premier · retrieved 2026-10-14 · W111 in library
  13. Elementary Chinese Immersion Program Evaluation Blue Valley Schools USD 229 / BoardDocs · retrieved 2026-10-15 · P020 in library
  14. Wolf Springs Elementary — Curriculum (elementary curricular documents, including World Language) Blue Valley USD 229 (Wolf Springs Elementary) · retrieved 2026-10-15 · W216 in library
  15. 2026-27 Middle School Programming Guide (Board packet, January 12, 2026) Blue Valley USD 229 / BoardBook Premier · retrieved 2026-10-15 · W215 in library
  16. Blue Valley USD 229 Policy KH — Gifts to Schools Blue Valley USD 229 (KASB policy portal) · retrieved 2026-10-14 · W201 in library
  17. K.S.A. 72-1142 — Bequests, legacies, trusts and donations Kansas Legislature · retrieved 2026-10-15 · W030 in library
  18. Shawnee Mission adopts policy on privately funded positions (Johnson County Post, April 30, 2025) Johnson County Post (news report; secondary source) · retrieved 2026-10-15 · W217 in library
  19. Licensed Personnel Guide 2026–2027 Kansas State Department of Education · retrieved 2026-10-15 · W214 in library
  20. Blue Valley USD 229 Policy IIBGB — Online Learning Opportunities Blue Valley USD 229 (KASB policy portal) · retrieved 2026-10-14 · W203 in library
  21. Superintendent Blue Valley Unified School District 229 · retrieved 2026-10-14 · W002 in library
  22. Legislative (Board of Education) Blue Valley Unified School District 229 · retrieved 2026-10-14 · W012 in library
  23. Board of Education Members Blue Valley Unified School District 229 · retrieved 2026-10-14 · W001 in library
  24. District Leadership Blue Valley Unified School District 229 · retrieved 2026-10-14 · W003 in library
  25. World Language & Chinese Immersion Blue Valley Unified School District 229 · retrieved 2026-10-15 · P021 in library
  26. Elementary Chinese Immersion Task Force Proposal Blue Valley Schools USD 229 / BoardDocs · retrieved 2026-10-15 · P005 in library
  27. Board of Education Blue Valley Unified School District 229 · retrieved 2026-10-14 · L016 in library
  28. Blue Valley USD 229 Policy BCBI — Public Participation at Board Meetings Blue Valley Unified School District 229 / KASB policy portal · retrieved 2026-10-14 · L020 in library
  29. Blue Valley Board of Education Meeting 10/12/2026 (video; YouTube automatic captions) Blue Valley Board of Education (official YouTube channel) · retrieved 2026-10-15 · W021 in library
  30. K.S.A. 72-3422 — Special education state aid computation Kansas Legislature · retrieved 2026-10-14 · W005 in library
  31. FY 2027 Comparison Report (July 30, 2026) Kansas Division of the Budget · retrieved 2026-10-14 · W006 in library
  32. Legislative Priority 2 — Fund Special Education as Statutorily Required Blue Valley Unified School District 229 · retrieved 2026-10-14 · W009 in library
  33. Contact Your Legislators Blue Valley Unified School District 229 · retrieved 2026-10-14 · W010 in library
  34. Find My Legislators — look up by address Kansas Legislature · retrieved 2026-10-14 · W011 in library
  35. K.S.A. 45-218 — Inspection; request; response; refusal; fees Kansas Legislature / Office of Revisor of Statutes · retrieved 2026-10-14 · L002 in library
  36. Frequently Asked Questions about the Kansas Open Records Act Office of the Kansas Attorney General · retrieved 2026-10-14 · L008 in library