At last progress: Last-minute legal shenanigans fail to stop school transfer

It’s July 1, the day the seven schools in Sugar Creek and western Independence are officially transferred into the Independence School District.

It is a day of renewed hope. The voters overwhelmingly approved the change last fall.

There have been bumps along the way. Those include last Friday’s decision that the Independence district must pay the Kansas City School District up to $13.7 million for two of the buildings.

Those bumps in the road also include a needless last-minute attempt in court to block the transfer.

A third party, the School District of Kansas City Building Corporation, holds title to the buildings and asked a judge to stop  the move. The Kansas City district, however, makes a single payment to that company for the buildings, so it’s impossible to break down the costs building by building. A Jackson County judge wisely said no to the request, and now things can proceed.

As it stands, the taxpayers of western Independence are or have been on the hook three times over: They paid to build the schools in the first place, they’re now paying the Kansas City district for the transfer – and they’ll pay a third time to catch up on years of deferred maintenance.

School opens in seven weeks. There’s a lot to be done, but brighter days are ahead.