Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city had an estimated population of 488,943 in 2017, making it the 37th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central city of the Kansas City metropolitan area, which straddles the Kansas–Missouri state line. Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a Missouri River port at its confluence with the Kansas River coming in from the west. On June 1, 1850 the town of Kansas was incorporated; shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued and the name Kansas City was assigned to distinguish them soon after.
History of the Kansas City metropolitan area
The legal case began in 1977 when the Kansas City, Missouri School District sued its neighboring districts for funds to help it desegregate its schools. In the ensuing court battle, Kansas City's school system itself was put under a federal court judge guidance; the judge then proceeded to order tax increases to improve the quality of the schools as the system built its network of magnet schools, including two high schools, Lincoln College Preparatory Academy and Paseo Academy. The battle dragged in the entire state of Missouri as schools outside the metropolitan area argued that they should not have to pay for Kansas City area schools. Further, Kansas City residents were angered over plans to bus students an hour or more each day over the city's vast area.