N ews
Parsons woman gets prison term for murder conspiracy
A Parsons woman on Wednesday received just over 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and another felony for her role in a 2023 death.
Kimberly Jean Nibarger, 49, was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and first-degree murder in Neosho County District Court. Her husband, Clint Nibarger, faces similar charges. He pleaded to lesser charges in his case — second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder — but decided to change attorneys before sentencing. That was in the fall. He will return to court on May 7 for a status hearing.
The Nibargers are accused of fatally shooting Dakota Patton. Patton was last seen alive with the Nibargers — her name was Kimberly Thomas at the time — on April 25, 2023, at Pete’s in Parsons. Thomas and Nibarger wed soon after.
Patton’s body was found on the south side of 20th Road between Xavier and Wallace roads in Neosho County on May 8, 2023. Clint Nibarger told a friend in Hollister, Missouri, that he had shot Patton in the face.
On Feb. 24, Kimberly Nibarger pleaded to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, a level two felony, and obstructing apprehen-
See NIBARGER, Page 10.
time and allow us to have that extra time that they had already previously approved,” Gordon said.
The state’s letter went through more than 15 drafts, according to Gordon.
“The funds are essential for completing projects that directly address academic development for students,” KSDE’s letter said. “These include statewide literacy and math professional development, assessment systems to students and critical investments in educator and leadership capacity.”
In the meantime, the state told every program using the funds from the extension to stop any activity that would incur further costs.
Jake Steel, the director of strategy and operational alignment in the Kansas education commissioner’s office, said Kansas classrooms haven’t yet been affected, but the longer the feds take to respond, the likelihood that classrooms feel pain increases.
“It will be a big deal if Kansas loses $22.6 million,” Steel said. “That is a huge, huge deal.”
Until that point, he said, it’s a matter of wait and see.
“We’re not trying to make enemies. We’re not trying to use kids as political pawns,” Steel said. “We’re just trying to do what is best for students, and we will respond as requested, and we will fulfill all the laws.”
Support from Kansas’ state and federal lawmakers has followed in kind.
U.S. Rep. Derek Schmidt, a Republican, asked the federal department to reinstate the funds in an April 5 social media post. KSDE “was successfully using COVID-19 funding to help our kids catch up from pandemic lockdowns and school closings,” unlike other states, he said in the post.
Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, sent a letter to McMahon on April 9, asking the department to reinstate Kansas’ funds because of how important they have been in restoring learning loss, training educators and lowering child care start-up costs.
“This funding is critical for our schools to continue setting Kansas children up for a strong start to life,” Kelly said.
Kansas is taking a different, more moderate approach than other states in trying to reclaim the funds. Some are refusing to comply with the federal department’s demands. More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia sued the department and McMahon, calling her decision to rescind the funds “arbitrary and capricious.”
In Arizona, a Navajo Nation school district ended reading and math tutoring services and halted repairs to aging infrastructure funded through the stabilization funds, the lawsuit said. In Nevada, 14 employees were laid off. In Michigan, a school district’s HVAC project will have to be abandoned if funds aren’t released. In Maryland, Baltimore City Public Schools canceled tutoring and after-school programs.
In Kansas, almost $7.6 million of the frozen funds have been going toward statewide literacy and math training for educators. About $6.6 million was being used to help schools improve monitoring of student performance. Around $3.6 million was designated for schools to effectively use high-quality instructional materials in classrooms.
About $480,000 was being used to expose students to the full range of career and education options after high school. Spurred by a decline in measures of success after graduation, one project helps students and families explore opportunities outside of a fouryear college path.
“A consequence of the learning loss created by the pandemic has been a decrease in the number of students, particularly males, pursuing postsecondary education,” KSDE’s letter said. “It is imperative to address this decline in postsecondary pursuits to ensure students have a path forward to earning a livable wage and Kansas can fulfill its workforce demand.”
The state’s letter to McMahon similarly justified each project’s funding.
Roughly $230,000 of the frozen funds were for principal and superintendent leadership development across the state. Nearly $2.3 million has been used to support child care and early childhood education. And almost $670,000 was being used for administrative and oversight costs within the state department.
