The billionaire and the students: Kansas City Royals owner pays youths to stay drug-free

Ebony, August, 1989 by Dalton Narine

THE BILLIONAIRE AND THE STUDENTS

IN baseball terms, 14-year-old Syreeta johnson simply wants to get to first base--to graduate fromhigh school. "It takes more than a hit to get to first base, though,c says Billionaire Ewing Marion Kauffman, who owns a majority share of the Kansas City Royals baseball team and is betting on Syreeta's future.

Syreeta's career goal is to become a pediatrician. If she gets out of the batter's box, in baseball parlane, by staying drug-free, avoiding pregnancy and maintaining good grades until she graduates, Kauffman will make good on his promise to pay her college tuition and expenses -- all the way through medical school. In fact, Kauffman could wind up financing the future of hundreds of inner-city students like Syreeta, contingent on a deal he cutin the fall of 1988 with some 300 students at Westport High School in Kansas City, Mo. [In addition to scholarships, students receive a specified sum of money for perfect attendance.]

Kauffman calls his innovative program Project Choice, and it could cost him between $5 million and $10 million. "but it's worth every penny," he says. His commitment to keep students off drugs and on a career path of their choice may be worth at least $15 million more if students of three other Kansas City schools sign similar contracts in the next school year.

"I feel terrible about the community's youths," Kauffman says. "Some don't have parental guidance or the education to make something of themselves. And drug abuse and early parenthood make it pretty difficult for some to overcome their hardships. Project Star and Project Choice could make a difference."

Both programs are funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Marion Laboratories, the pharmaceutical company Kauffman founded in his basement 40 years ago. Marion, which reported net earnings of $150 million for 1988, is involved in the development, manufacture and sale of pharmaceutical, hospital and laboratory products. Notwithstanding the firm's proven corporate social responsibility over the years, particularly relating to heart disease awareness projects, it was the usage of illegal drugs in 1982 by a few of his baseball players that spurred Kauffman's obligation to help academically and economically disadvantaged students.

A drug-abuse prevention program, Project Star (Student Taught Awareness and Resistance) was initiated in 1984 to teach drug resistance skills to thousands of Kansas City high school students. "We've been able to reduce marijuana use by 50 percent," says Calvin C. Mack, the program's executive director. "Just saying 'No' to drugs implies that it's easy to do. On the other hand, our classroom curriculum and role-playing approach convince students that they actually can overcome peer pressure." About 60,000 students have successfully participated in the program since its inception.

Project Choice was designed "to change the way disadvantaged young people think oftheir future," according to program director Thomas J. Rhone. "When you show teenagers their potential, their individual pride will manifest itself eventually and they'll begin to understand themselves."

Fifteen-year-old Tosha Cunningham epitomizes the program's underlying theme of self-esteem, Rhone says. Since her contractual commitment to Kauffman's program, Tosha has stayed out of trouble and the principal's office, and has regularly cashed in on Kauffman's monetary incentive scheme by increasing her attendance, raising her grades and making the school's honor roll.

"You'd be silly if you took drugs and didn't try harder," says Elton Ladd, a ninth-grade student who plans to study business.

"If I want to do what I'm trying to do," says Syreeta Johnson, "drugs aren't going to get me anywhere. What this program means to me is opportunity. I want to go to college."

Random drug tests to date hae revealed no evidence of drugs in 94 students' samples. Those who fail two drug tests are release from their contracts, says Principal David L. Griffin Sr. "It's a principal's dream to see such a program work in his school," he says proudly. A former high school principal, Rhone concurs. "With our tutorial program, investment club and parents' increased awareness of their children's future, this is the most significant commitment to public school education that we know of."