Olathe turns traffic fines into school supplies for kids in the community

Walking to your car to find a ticket on your windshield can seriously ruin your day. But now the city of Olathe is offering a trade.

They’re letting people donate some school supplies instead of paying traffic and parking fines.

You can donate $15 worth of school supplies like backpacks, markers, binders, notebooks, dry erase markers, then bring your receipt when you make your donation, and the city will give you a $50 credit on traffic and parking fines.

Olathe municipal judge Katie McElhinney said they’re doing this because families feel the effects of inflation and they want to help meet the need for kids in the district.

Olivia Acree/KSHB

“In this day and age, everyone's feeling the pinch of inflation, and everything just seems to cost more. And we know that there's kids out there in the Olathe school district who might be showing up without all needed supplies. So, for us to be able to fill that gap and provide that to those kids means the world,” said Judge McElhinney.

You can make donations from July 15th-26th. Judge McElhinney said that you don’t need a ticket to make a donation. The municipal court welcomes anyone to bring donations to help them meet their goal of $2,000 worth of donations.