This is one of the better videos I've seen on Home Staging. GREAT before and after photos.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Home Staging on 20/20
Just so you'll know, with every single listing I take, I provide FREE home staging to the homeowner.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Liberty City Council OKs takeover of Missouri Route A
The City Council at a special session Monday, July 30, approved taking over responsibility from the state for 1.9 miles of Missouri Route A between Missouri Highway 291 and 112th Street.
The previous week it appeared the transfer of Route A could be in jeopardy, creating a domino effect that threatened the timing of other construction projects.
At their meeting July 23, some council members expressed concern about adding more roadways to the city's already over-burdened street system.
Not accepting Route A could have created problems immediately for Roger's Sporting Goods and potentially later for New Town at Liberty, a 939-acre development proposed along Route A. A second high school is also planned for construction on Route A, which will likely be renamed.
“The public works director had just told us that 60 percent of our streets are crap,” said Councilman John Parry. “Why would we want more when we can't take care of what we have? We didn't know that we could hurt Roger's if we didn't take A.”
Parry said council members, especially those newly elected, were not given enough information earlier about the ramifications of not approving the transfer of Route A to the city.
Mayor Bob Steinkamp said council members had the information, but some apparently didn't read it or understand it.
“It bothers me that they didn't think this through,” Steinkamp said. “I don't understand this wall of silence. If they don't understand it, they should ask.”
Shannon Peisert, vice president of Roger's, said it was important for the city to take over Route A because it would allow the business to move forward with its project, which involves relocation of utilities in Liberty's rights of way.
Roger's is in the Triangle but will move to Roger's Plaza, a sports-themed shopping center, next spring. Once that happens, Roger's old building will be torn down to allow Blue Jay Drive to connect to Highway 291, opening the eastern side of the Triangle for new businesses.
Steve Hansen, public works director, said the state wanted the city to take over all state routes in the city limits with the exception of Highway 291 in exchange for the state accepting responsibility for the proposed Flintlock overpass.
“The maintenance and liability connected to the overpass is huge,” Hansen said. “And by taking over A highway we would have more control, like setting speed limits.”
With the relinquishment agreement approved, MoDOT will forward a quit-claim deed for approval to the Missouri Highway Commission for the conveyance of Route A to the city, Hansen said.
In other road business, the council at its July 23 meeting unanimously approved spending $650,000 for micro surfacing and overlay and kept back $40,000 in contingency. Contracts approved included $76,393 with Musselman & Hall Contractors for micro-surfacing and $458,732 with Superior Bowen Asphalt Co. for overlay. The council also agreed to spend $113,846 with Superior Bowen for the Dalles subdivision roads. The roadwork is expected to take two to three weeks to complete, according to city engineer Brian Hess.
In other action, the council:- approved unanimously a rezoning application and preliminary development plan for Liberty Farms, an upscale subdivision at the southeast corner of La Frenz and Richfield roads, despite objections from neighbors. According to the applicant, the development includes about 50 homes priced in the $400,000 to $800,000 range to be constructed on 33 acres. Surrounding residents expressed concern about traffic congestion, density and potential crime encroaching on their rural lifestyle. Their greatest concern was about water runoff and possible damage to their properties. Developer BTF Management is expected to return later to the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council with a final development plan, when any concerns would be addressed fully, officials said.
- approved road improvements for portions of Bent Oaks, Camelot, Claywoods and Blueberry and along South Wales, Blue Jay Drive, Murray Road, Richfield Road and Bristol Way.
- approved an easement agreement with the Liberty school district for an 8-foot wide paved park trail through the Blackberry development south of the Community Center.
- approved an amendment to the city's parking regulations to create a parking district in neighborhoods surrounding William Jewell College. Under the plan, residents would be allowed one parking permit per household to park on the street. This is the latest effort by the city, college officials and residents to control parking problems on neighborhood streets when classes are in session.
The previous week it appeared the transfer of Route A could be in jeopardy, creating a domino effect that threatened the timing of other construction projects.
At their meeting July 23, some council members expressed concern about adding more roadways to the city's already over-burdened street system.
Not accepting Route A could have created problems immediately for Roger's Sporting Goods and potentially later for New Town at Liberty, a 939-acre development proposed along Route A. A second high school is also planned for construction on Route A, which will likely be renamed.
“The public works director had just told us that 60 percent of our streets are crap,” said Councilman John Parry. “Why would we want more when we can't take care of what we have? We didn't know that we could hurt Roger's if we didn't take A.”
Parry said council members, especially those newly elected, were not given enough information earlier about the ramifications of not approving the transfer of Route A to the city.
Mayor Bob Steinkamp said council members had the information, but some apparently didn't read it or understand it.
“It bothers me that they didn't think this through,” Steinkamp said. “I don't understand this wall of silence. If they don't understand it, they should ask.”
Shannon Peisert, vice president of Roger's, said it was important for the city to take over Route A because it would allow the business to move forward with its project, which involves relocation of utilities in Liberty's rights of way.
Roger's is in the Triangle but will move to Roger's Plaza, a sports-themed shopping center, next spring. Once that happens, Roger's old building will be torn down to allow Blue Jay Drive to connect to Highway 291, opening the eastern side of the Triangle for new businesses.
Steve Hansen, public works director, said the state wanted the city to take over all state routes in the city limits with the exception of Highway 291 in exchange for the state accepting responsibility for the proposed Flintlock overpass.
“The maintenance and liability connected to the overpass is huge,” Hansen said. “And by taking over A highway we would have more control, like setting speed limits.”
With the relinquishment agreement approved, MoDOT will forward a quit-claim deed for approval to the Missouri Highway Commission for the conveyance of Route A to the city, Hansen said.
In other road business, the council at its July 23 meeting unanimously approved spending $650,000 for micro surfacing and overlay and kept back $40,000 in contingency. Contracts approved included $76,393 with Musselman & Hall Contractors for micro-surfacing and $458,732 with Superior Bowen Asphalt Co. for overlay. The council also agreed to spend $113,846 with Superior Bowen for the Dalles subdivision roads. The roadwork is expected to take two to three weeks to complete, according to city engineer Brian Hess.
In other action, the council:- approved unanimously a rezoning application and preliminary development plan for Liberty Farms, an upscale subdivision at the southeast corner of La Frenz and Richfield roads, despite objections from neighbors. According to the applicant, the development includes about 50 homes priced in the $400,000 to $800,000 range to be constructed on 33 acres. Surrounding residents expressed concern about traffic congestion, density and potential crime encroaching on their rural lifestyle. Their greatest concern was about water runoff and possible damage to their properties. Developer BTF Management is expected to return later to the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council with a final development plan, when any concerns would be addressed fully, officials said.
- approved road improvements for portions of Bent Oaks, Camelot, Claywoods and Blueberry and along South Wales, Blue Jay Drive, Murray Road, Richfield Road and Bristol Way.
- approved an easement agreement with the Liberty school district for an 8-foot wide paved park trail through the Blackberry development south of the Community Center.
- approved an amendment to the city's parking regulations to create a parking district in neighborhoods surrounding William Jewell College. Under the plan, residents would be allowed one parking permit per household to park on the street. This is the latest effort by the city, college officials and residents to control parking problems on neighborhood streets when classes are in session.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Money Magazines TOP 100 Best Places to Live for 2007
No 67. Liberty, Mo.
Population: 28,600Median home price (2006): $198,077Average property taxes (2006): $1,865Liberty's biggest employers include the Liberty Hospital, a Hallmark card distribution center and several other mid-size businesses, but the town's best economic asset is arguably its closeness to jobs in Kansas City. The first-ring suburb offers shopping, restaurants and parks for walking, hiking and biking. Residents can play soccer, baseball and golf at the $7 million Fountain Bluff recreational complex, opened in 2002. William Jewell College, a small liberal arts school, is also located there, giving the town a boost of youth and culture. -A.F.
For the full report visit http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/top100/
Population: 28,600Median home price (2006): $198,077Average property taxes (2006): $1,865Liberty's biggest employers include the Liberty Hospital, a Hallmark card distribution center and several other mid-size businesses, but the town's best economic asset is arguably its closeness to jobs in Kansas City. The first-ring suburb offers shopping, restaurants and parks for walking, hiking and biking. Residents can play soccer, baseball and golf at the $7 million Fountain Bluff recreational complex, opened in 2002. William Jewell College, a small liberal arts school, is also located there, giving the town a boost of youth and culture. -A.F.
For the full report visit http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/top100/
Monday, August 27, 2007
Maximizing your Sales Price through Home Staging
As the housing market cools, it's more important than ever to pull out all the stops...six tricks of the pros for getting top dollar.
There are several surfire ways to boost the value of your home (a Viking stove and an inground pool certainly never hurt). But for sellers, there's only one way to maximize your investment that can A) be done in just a few days, B) can cost less than a plane ticket, and C) won't involve copious amounts of dust and contractor bills
It's called staging -- that is, spiffing up your home in a number of small ways -- and it's getting more and more popular as the housing market cools and sellers try and set their homes apart.
"The way you live in your home and the way you market a house are two different things," says Barb Schwarz, the CEO and founder of StagedHomes.com, who has personally staged more than 5,000 homes over the past 33 years. "You have to think of your home as a product."
A home that Schwarz recently staged in Seattle had been on the market for nine months at an asking price of $1.4 million. Three weeks after investing $8,000 in staging services (the average cost of staging is $3,200), the sellers received an offer for $1.9 million -- $500,000 more than the asking price.
Staged homes also sell faster, according to Schwarz -- an average of seven days compared to 45 days for unstaged homes.
Here are six tricks from staging pros that will give you the home-court advantage:
Get On Your Hands and Knees
OK, so cleaning up sounds like a given, but this goes way beyond a vacuum cleaner and a dust rag. To get your home in shape for sale, you need to scrub around the faucets and the light switches. Banish the dustballs hanging around the baseboards and the cobwebs in the skylights. Powerwash the house and the driveway and keep the sidewalk swept clean.
"You would detail your car if you were going to sell it," says Schwarz. "You should detail your house too."
Follow the Basketball Rule
It's no secret that America is a nation of consumers. And all of that stuff we buy is strewn about our homes.
In the living room of one luxurious home that Schwarz staged, she unearthed a grand piano beneath mounds of clutter -- something she did not notice when she first visited. So while you might like being surrounded by your collection of trophy fish or glass figurines, these items can be a real turnoff to a potential buyer.
Here's a rule of thumb: Remove all items that are smaller than the size of a basketball. Pack up at least half of your books. And stash the photographs of you and the kids on your Hawaiian vacation.
You want the buyer to be able to envision himself in your home -- not you.
Color Your Walls Martha
Yes, of course your bright red dining room and purple living room are exquisite and fit your style to a tee. But the truth is that a prospective buyer is unlikely to appreciate your extraordinary taste and doesn't want to have to paint everything down after closing on the house.
Cover your walls in neutral, complementary hues -- Schwarz says Martha Stewart's line is your best bet. They make rooms look expansive.
Cast a Cold Eye
Stand at the doorway of each room and take in the impression it gives. Are there too many accessories on the wall? Too many area rugs? Do the plants look overgrown? Is the furniture clustered on one side of the room?
"Most master bedrooms have too much," says Schwarz. "They tend to look like furniture stores."
In the dining room, remove extra leaves and chairs. In other rooms, take at least half of everything out and see how it looks. Then reintroduce items into the room sparingly. Be sure to visit your garage, basement, and attic for inspiration. Schwarz recently transformed a humdrum child's bedroom into a nautical paradise using items she found in the owners' garage. An old fishing pole found new life as a curtain rod, a net became a headboard, and a fishing boot served as the base for a lamp.
The buyers for this $1.5 million house were so taken with the handiwork that they stipulated in the contract that the contents of this child's room were to stay with the house. So go ahead and show some flair, but leave any dramatic artwork -- especially nudes -- out.
Set the Scene
If you're expecting an agent to stop by with a potential buyer, there are several last-minute touches you need to do before leaving the house. Empty the wastebaskets, put the toilet lids down ("I can't tell you how many people in million dollar homes leave their seats up," says Schwarz.), hide your laundry and grooming items, and place baskets of new, color coordinated hand towels in the bathroom. Always leave some lights on.
And have soft jazz or easy listening music playing. It will put people in a buying mood.
Call in the Pros
If staging your home is too big a project to pull off by yourself, there are scores of professionals willing to give you a hand. You can find Accredited Staging Professionals in your state at http://www.stagedhomes.com/asps/asps.php. But before hiring anyone, ask to see their portfolio.
There are several surfire ways to boost the value of your home (a Viking stove and an inground pool certainly never hurt). But for sellers, there's only one way to maximize your investment that can A) be done in just a few days, B) can cost less than a plane ticket, and C) won't involve copious amounts of dust and contractor bills
It's called staging -- that is, spiffing up your home in a number of small ways -- and it's getting more and more popular as the housing market cools and sellers try and set their homes apart.
"The way you live in your home and the way you market a house are two different things," says Barb Schwarz, the CEO and founder of StagedHomes.com, who has personally staged more than 5,000 homes over the past 33 years. "You have to think of your home as a product."
A home that Schwarz recently staged in Seattle had been on the market for nine months at an asking price of $1.4 million. Three weeks after investing $8,000 in staging services (the average cost of staging is $3,200), the sellers received an offer for $1.9 million -- $500,000 more than the asking price.
Staged homes also sell faster, according to Schwarz -- an average of seven days compared to 45 days for unstaged homes.
Here are six tricks from staging pros that will give you the home-court advantage:
Get On Your Hands and Knees
OK, so cleaning up sounds like a given, but this goes way beyond a vacuum cleaner and a dust rag. To get your home in shape for sale, you need to scrub around the faucets and the light switches. Banish the dustballs hanging around the baseboards and the cobwebs in the skylights. Powerwash the house and the driveway and keep the sidewalk swept clean.
"You would detail your car if you were going to sell it," says Schwarz. "You should detail your house too."
Follow the Basketball Rule
It's no secret that America is a nation of consumers. And all of that stuff we buy is strewn about our homes.
In the living room of one luxurious home that Schwarz staged, she unearthed a grand piano beneath mounds of clutter -- something she did not notice when she first visited. So while you might like being surrounded by your collection of trophy fish or glass figurines, these items can be a real turnoff to a potential buyer.
Here's a rule of thumb: Remove all items that are smaller than the size of a basketball. Pack up at least half of your books. And stash the photographs of you and the kids on your Hawaiian vacation.
You want the buyer to be able to envision himself in your home -- not you.
Color Your Walls Martha
Yes, of course your bright red dining room and purple living room are exquisite and fit your style to a tee. But the truth is that a prospective buyer is unlikely to appreciate your extraordinary taste and doesn't want to have to paint everything down after closing on the house.
Cover your walls in neutral, complementary hues -- Schwarz says Martha Stewart's line is your best bet. They make rooms look expansive.
Cast a Cold Eye
Stand at the doorway of each room and take in the impression it gives. Are there too many accessories on the wall? Too many area rugs? Do the plants look overgrown? Is the furniture clustered on one side of the room?
"Most master bedrooms have too much," says Schwarz. "They tend to look like furniture stores."
In the dining room, remove extra leaves and chairs. In other rooms, take at least half of everything out and see how it looks. Then reintroduce items into the room sparingly. Be sure to visit your garage, basement, and attic for inspiration. Schwarz recently transformed a humdrum child's bedroom into a nautical paradise using items she found in the owners' garage. An old fishing pole found new life as a curtain rod, a net became a headboard, and a fishing boot served as the base for a lamp.
The buyers for this $1.5 million house were so taken with the handiwork that they stipulated in the contract that the contents of this child's room were to stay with the house. So go ahead and show some flair, but leave any dramatic artwork -- especially nudes -- out.
Set the Scene
If you're expecting an agent to stop by with a potential buyer, there are several last-minute touches you need to do before leaving the house. Empty the wastebaskets, put the toilet lids down ("I can't tell you how many people in million dollar homes leave their seats up," says Schwarz.), hide your laundry and grooming items, and place baskets of new, color coordinated hand towels in the bathroom. Always leave some lights on.
And have soft jazz or easy listening music playing. It will put people in a buying mood.
Call in the Pros
If staging your home is too big a project to pull off by yourself, there are scores of professionals willing to give you a hand. You can find Accredited Staging Professionals in your state at http://www.stagedhomes.com/asps/asps.php. But before hiring anyone, ask to see their portfolio.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
2007 Liberty Fall Festival
The 2007 Liberty Fall Festival will be held September 28-30, 2007 in beautiful downtown Liberty, Missouri. For more information visit http://www.libertyfallfestival.com/index.html
This is one of the area's Premier Arts and Crafts Fairs with Music & Entertainment throughout the weekend and admission is FREE!
This is one of the area's Premier Arts and Crafts Fairs with Music & Entertainment throughout the weekend and admission is FREE!
New Economic Developments in Liberty Missouri
Blackberry is a development which has completed the approval process in the City of Liberty. Now all we need is you! Blackberry is a mixed-use development which will include residential, retail and office. Its location is great - right next to the Liberty Community Center on Withers Road. Withers Road is the main feeder street to and from the new South Liberty Parkway which connects to I-35. To see more information about Blackberry, click here to open its website.
Liberty Pointe is a mixed-use development just recently approved by the City Council. The first phase is senior housing. Phase II will include shopping and dining. The mixed-use zoning would allow many business uses. The site is at the corner of Withers Drive and the new South Liberty Parkway which serves as an arterial street to I-35. It is projected to see 16,000 cars per day.
Liberty Triangle is a development that is currently underway. This retail area is already enjoying success with national tenants such as Texas Roadhouse, Starbuck's, Red Robin and Planet Sub. It is located at I-35 and MO 152 with some of the highest traffic counts in the area. To see more information about the Shoppes at Liberty Triangle, click here to open its web site.
New Town at Liberty is a 900+ development which will include residential, retail and office. Developed by Whittaker Homes the residential component is a traditional neighborhood development. Whittaker's similar project, New Town St. Charles, has been tremendously successful. The boundaries of New Town at Liberty are A Highway on the south and west and I-35 on the east.
Click here to open its website.Roger's Plaza will be 147,000 square feet of retail space anchored by Roger's Sporting Goods. It is located less than a mile north of the I-35 & MO 291 intersection with excellent I-35 visibility. It is also directly south of the New Town at Liberty (see above).
Shoal Creek Valley Development - Zion Securities in Salt Lake City, Utah has announced additional plans for a mixed-use development. This additional 320 acres will include retail, office and residential components.The principal developer is Carma Development with partner Alberta Development Partners. The project lies on Missouri Highway 152 between I-435 and I-35 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Whitehall Station will be a regional shopping destination located at the convergence of I-35, Highway 69 and South Liberty Parkway. Close to 70 acres will develop into almost 700,000 square feet lifestyle center. Local developer, Ferguson Properties, has partnered with national developer CBL & Associates. CBL also owns Oak Park Mall in Overland Park.
Liberty Pointe is a mixed-use development just recently approved by the City Council. The first phase is senior housing. Phase II will include shopping and dining. The mixed-use zoning would allow many business uses. The site is at the corner of Withers Drive and the new South Liberty Parkway which serves as an arterial street to I-35. It is projected to see 16,000 cars per day.
Liberty Triangle is a development that is currently underway. This retail area is already enjoying success with national tenants such as Texas Roadhouse, Starbuck's, Red Robin and Planet Sub. It is located at I-35 and MO 152 with some of the highest traffic counts in the area. To see more information about the Shoppes at Liberty Triangle, click here to open its web site.
New Town at Liberty is a 900+ development which will include residential, retail and office. Developed by Whittaker Homes the residential component is a traditional neighborhood development. Whittaker's similar project, New Town St. Charles, has been tremendously successful. The boundaries of New Town at Liberty are A Highway on the south and west and I-35 on the east.
Click here to open its website.Roger's Plaza will be 147,000 square feet of retail space anchored by Roger's Sporting Goods. It is located less than a mile north of the I-35 & MO 291 intersection with excellent I-35 visibility. It is also directly south of the New Town at Liberty (see above).
Shoal Creek Valley Development - Zion Securities in Salt Lake City, Utah has announced additional plans for a mixed-use development. This additional 320 acres will include retail, office and residential components.The principal developer is Carma Development with partner Alberta Development Partners. The project lies on Missouri Highway 152 between I-435 and I-35 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Whitehall Station will be a regional shopping destination located at the convergence of I-35, Highway 69 and South Liberty Parkway. Close to 70 acres will develop into almost 700,000 square feet lifestyle center. Local developer, Ferguson Properties, has partnered with national developer CBL & Associates. CBL also owns Oak Park Mall in Overland Park.
KC ranks 3rd for Relocating Families
Kansas City ranks No. 3 among large metropolitan areas in the 2007 Best Cities for Relocating Families, published by Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation.
Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas, ranks No. 1 among metro areas with populations of at least 1.25 million. Wichita ranks second among midsized metros with a population of 575,000 to 1.25 million. Knoxville, Tenn., topped that list. Provo-Orem, Utah, came in No. 1 for relocating families in small metro areas, those with a population of 350,000 to 575,000. Springfield, Mo., ranks 11th on the list of small metro areas.
This is the third year for the study, on which the two organizations worked with Bert Sperling of Sperling's BestPlaces to rate cities based on short-term and long-term factors that determine the likelihood of a successful relocation. In relocating a family, traditional variables such as an area's cost of living, crime rates, education and climate are combined with more abstract factors such as a city's arts and culture scene, focus on diversity and number of physicians per capita, according to a release.
The 2007 study placed a special emphasis on the housing market.
If you are considering relocating to the Kansas City area, especially Liberty Missouri, please call Ron Henderson of Keller Williams, Northland Partners at (816) 651-9001 or visit his website at www.clayandplatte.com
Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas, ranks No. 1 among metro areas with populations of at least 1.25 million. Wichita ranks second among midsized metros with a population of 575,000 to 1.25 million. Knoxville, Tenn., topped that list. Provo-Orem, Utah, came in No. 1 for relocating families in small metro areas, those with a population of 350,000 to 575,000. Springfield, Mo., ranks 11th on the list of small metro areas.
This is the third year for the study, on which the two organizations worked with Bert Sperling of Sperling's BestPlaces to rate cities based on short-term and long-term factors that determine the likelihood of a successful relocation. In relocating a family, traditional variables such as an area's cost of living, crime rates, education and climate are combined with more abstract factors such as a city's arts and culture scene, focus on diversity and number of physicians per capita, according to a release.
The 2007 study placed a special emphasis on the housing market.
If you are considering relocating to the Kansas City area, especially Liberty Missouri, please call Ron Henderson of Keller Williams, Northland Partners at (816) 651-9001 or visit his website at www.clayandplatte.com
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Liberty High School in Liberty Missouri
Liberty High School is a three-year high school for grades 10-12, located in Liberty, Missouri. Freshmen attend Liberty Junior High School and South Valley Junior High. Its current enrollment is just over 2000, and is projected to rapidly increase. It is the only high school in the Liberty Public School District, though a second high school is planned for construction by 2010.
LHS was first established in 1890 as Clay County, Missouri's first four-year high school. Its original campus, located at Mill and Gallatin, is now the site of Franklin Elementary. In 1923, the school, overcrowded in its first facility with 300 students, relocated to the former site of the Liberty Ladies College, at Kansas and Fairview streets. As Liberty grew into a major suburb of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the district built a new facility near Interstate 35, about one mile (1.6 km) west of the downtown area, and converted the previous facility to the junior high.
With word of its strong academic reputation attracting families to new subdivisions in Liberty and Kansas City, Liberty High School tripled in size during the 1990s, adding wings for science, fine arts, visual arts, and an expanded media center.
Several programs at Liberty have received state and national accolades. State championships include men's track (1923, 1924, 1999, 2001), men's cross country (2003, 2004), women's cross country (2006), men's basketball (1998), academic competition (1993, 2003, 2005), one-act play (1996) and women's softball (2004). Liberty has twice served as the president school for the Missouri Association of Student Councils, doing so in 1957 and 2003. Its broadcasting program, recipient of the National Pacemaker Award for exceptional student journalism in 2004, operates cable channel 18 on Time Warner Cable under the non-assigned call letters KLPS.
LHS was first established in 1890 as Clay County, Missouri's first four-year high school. Its original campus, located at Mill and Gallatin, is now the site of Franklin Elementary. In 1923, the school, overcrowded in its first facility with 300 students, relocated to the former site of the Liberty Ladies College, at Kansas and Fairview streets. As Liberty grew into a major suburb of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the district built a new facility near Interstate 35, about one mile (1.6 km) west of the downtown area, and converted the previous facility to the junior high.
With word of its strong academic reputation attracting families to new subdivisions in Liberty and Kansas City, Liberty High School tripled in size during the 1990s, adding wings for science, fine arts, visual arts, and an expanded media center.
Several programs at Liberty have received state and national accolades. State championships include men's track (1923, 1924, 1999, 2001), men's cross country (2003, 2004), women's cross country (2006), men's basketball (1998), academic competition (1993, 2003, 2005), one-act play (1996) and women's softball (2004). Liberty has twice served as the president school for the Missouri Association of Student Councils, doing so in 1957 and 2003. Its broadcasting program, recipient of the National Pacemaker Award for exceptional student journalism in 2004, operates cable channel 18 on Time Warner Cable under the non-assigned call letters KLPS.
Liberty Public Schools award-winning spot
This spot, produced by Wide Awake Films, earned the Missouri School Public Relations Association's "Award of Excellence", the organization's highest award. We thank the good people at Liberty Public Schools for the opportunity. http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=827367868
To find out more about purchasing a home and living within the Liberty School Disctrict, contact Ron Henderson at (816) 651-9001 or visit his website at www.ClayAndPlatte.com
To find out more about purchasing a home and living within the Liberty School Disctrict, contact Ron Henderson at (816) 651-9001 or visit his website at www.ClayAndPlatte.com
Liberty School District's NEW website
The Liberty School District's new and improved website is up and running at http://liberty.k12.mo.us
High Academic Standards!
Liberty Public Schools has been named a "High Performing School District" by the state of Missouri for five consecutive years. “High Performing” is the highest accreditation ranking given to a Missouri school and recognizes Liberty as one the state’s best school districts. Liberty students consistently score above state and national norms on standardized tests. Liberty High School’s ACT scores rank it among the areas best, and the high school continues to graduate a high number of Bright Flight Scholars National Merit Scholarship winners. Liberty's graduation rate is 89 percent, and the dropout rate is under three percent.
Recognized for Safety
Our safety program has won national attention. What Liberty Public Schools is doing to keep children safe has been featured on the front cover of USA Today and on NBC Nightly News.
Great Leadership!
The Liberty Schools Board of Education was recognized as Missouri's finest by the Missouri School Boards Association when it was named Missouri's Outstanding Board of Education. Missouri has over 530 school districts. Ninety-seven percent of the district budget goes directly to programs related to students. About three percent goes to business services, executive administration, community services, and the Board of Education. Senior High School Principal Dr. Martin Jacobs, was awarded a $25,000 cash prize in 1997 for his contribution to Liberty High School by the Milken Grant Award Program, which honors the nation's outstanding educators.
We're Connected!
The district was one of only three schools in the nation honored by the National School Boards Association for technology excellence. Liberty is used as a state model for effective use of technology for learning. Liberty Schools operates its own public cable channel serving all Liberty district homes and sends out a weekly e-mail newsletter, called QuickNews, with school information to over 3,500 people.
High Academic Standards!
Liberty Public Schools has been named a "High Performing School District" by the state of Missouri for five consecutive years. “High Performing” is the highest accreditation ranking given to a Missouri school and recognizes Liberty as one the state’s best school districts. Liberty students consistently score above state and national norms on standardized tests. Liberty High School’s ACT scores rank it among the areas best, and the high school continues to graduate a high number of Bright Flight Scholars National Merit Scholarship winners. Liberty's graduation rate is 89 percent, and the dropout rate is under three percent.
Recognized for Safety
Our safety program has won national attention. What Liberty Public Schools is doing to keep children safe has been featured on the front cover of USA Today and on NBC Nightly News.
Great Leadership!
The Liberty Schools Board of Education was recognized as Missouri's finest by the Missouri School Boards Association when it was named Missouri's Outstanding Board of Education. Missouri has over 530 school districts. Ninety-seven percent of the district budget goes directly to programs related to students. About three percent goes to business services, executive administration, community services, and the Board of Education. Senior High School Principal Dr. Martin Jacobs, was awarded a $25,000 cash prize in 1997 for his contribution to Liberty High School by the Milken Grant Award Program, which honors the nation's outstanding educators.
We're Connected!
The district was one of only three schools in the nation honored by the National School Boards Association for technology excellence. Liberty is used as a state model for effective use of technology for learning. Liberty Schools operates its own public cable channel serving all Liberty district homes and sends out a weekly e-mail newsletter, called QuickNews, with school information to over 3,500 people.
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