In Wichita, don’t take photographs of the school administration building!

On Monday April 7, 2008, I attended a news conference held at the USD 259 (the Wichita public school district) headquarters, a building at First and Water Streets. Its official name is the Alvin E. Morris Administrative Center.

After the news conference ended, I thought I would take advantage of the moment to let the budding photographer in me express his nature by taking a few photographs.

But while standing on a public sidewalk and taking a photograph of a public building, I was ordered to stop.

A uniformed USD 259 security guard came out of the building and explained that if I wanted to take pictures, I had to “speak to someone.”

Sort of takes the “public” out of the “Wichita Public Schools.”

One of the offending photographs of the Wichita school administration building. I thought it was a dramatic rendition, if I do say so myself.