Conservatives hope to make headway with Kansas Board of Education elections, including two in Lawrence

TOPEKA — A change in the composition of the Kansas Board of Education after the November election could shift the balance of power on the board in favor of conservative members.

Half of the 10 council seats are up for election. Republicans currently outnumber Democrats seven to three, but some moderate board members are not running for re-election, leaving the board facing a potential ideological shakeup. All five races are contested, with 12 candidates dividing on central issues such as parental rights, public school funding and school safety ahead of Nov. 5.

The board is charged with oversight of the Kansas Department of Education and public schools, but has little control over funding, which is the responsibility of the Legislature.

Two incumbents are seeking re-election, and a pair of three-way races could split the conservative vote. Many of the Republican candidates in this election support the conservative faction of the current board on issues such as religion in schools, arming teachers and parental involvement in instructional and operational decisions.

At an Oct. 6 forum in Lawrence, Northeast 4th District candidate Chris Meyer criticized four conservative members of the current board who she believes “seek to sow distrust in our public schools in the state of Kansas.”

Those four board members—Danny Zeck, Michelle Dombroski, Katie Hopkins and Dennis Hershberger—are not up for re-election until 2026.

In the 2nd District, which represents school districts in Johnson and Wyandotte counties, incumbent Melanie Haas, a Democrat and tech executive, is seeking to retain her seat in a three-way race. She faces Republican candidate Fred Postlewaite and independent candidate Kiel Corkran. Haas was first elected in 2020 and currently serves as chairman of the board. She was endorsed by the National Education Association of Kansas, the state’s public educators union, and advocated for full funding of public schools.

Postlethwaite, a former computer systems manager, was inspired to run for the board to address declining ACT scores, which had been trending downward since 2014 but fell sharply in 2020.

“The train has derailed,” he wrote on his campaign website.

Corkran does not have a campaign website and did not respond to Kansas Reflector requests for an interview.

In the 4th District in northeast Kansas, which includes Baldwin City, Eudora and most of rural Douglas County, Democrat Ann Mah is vacating her seat on the board after eight years. Connie O’Brien, a Republican, a former teacher and state representative, and Meyer, a longtime teacher and public school principal, are vying for the position.

O’Brien led two other Republican candidates in the August primary after Attorney General Kris Kobach endorsed her, urging conservatives to vote for her.

In a video posted on YouTube, she said she would focus on changes in vocational education, supporting parents’ rights and supporting teachers.

O’Brien, who did not respond to Kansas Reflector requests for comment, said at an Oct. 6 candidate forum at the Lawrence Public Library that she does not support vouchers, adding that private and home school parents “don’t want government in their face.”

“But you have to wonder why parents come to the capital every year and ask for this,” she said.

Meyer told the Kansas Reflector she will focus on fully funding public education, especially special education, addressing the teacher shortage and student retention issues, and increasing support for student mental health.

“I want the state board to continue to set clear standards and advocate for policies and funding that ensure all students receive a quality education,” she said. “This includes challenging legislative abuses that may interfere with the state board’s constitutional responsibilities.”

In the 6th District, which includes most of the Lawrence city limits, Republican Deanna Horst is not running for re-election. Democrat Beryl Ann New, former director of human resources and capital for Topeka Public Schools, and Republican Bruce Schultz, a former professor of anatomy and physiology at Kansas State University, are running to represent school districts in north-central and northeastern Kansas, including the city of Lawrence and Topeka.

If elected, New told the Kansas Reflector, her goal would be to address poor student performance and school safety in the first year.

“I will work with board members to ensure resources are provided to schools whose students have not yet reached reading comprehension levels, provide funding to ensure Kansas schools remain safe and secure, and stand firm in supporting full funding for all Kansas schools with 100% of funds coming from exclusively to public schools,” New said.

She also said she supports proven alternative teaching programs to address teacher retention and shortages. At a forum in Lawrence on Oct. 6, New said the main reason teachers leave the profession is inadequate pay.

Schultz, who did not respond to queries from the Kansas Reflector, said at the forum that he does not believe raising teacher salaries is the right answer to teacher retention and teacher shortage issues. Instead, he prefers an approach that promotes persistence in learning, he said.

“We need to reform the system to enable and promote greater community participation,” he said.

According to his campaign website, Schultz campaigned on prioritizing parental involvement in school decisions, focusing on math, science, language arts, financial literacy and budget efficiency.

In the Wichita area’s 8th District, Democratic incumbent Betty Arnold, a former Wichita school board member, is seeking to retain the position she has held since 2021. She seeks to re-evaluate performance metrics and outcomes, increase teacher compensation and prioritize student safety.

“I believe in public education and will continue to support it,” Arnold said in an email. “As the focus shifts away from supporting public education, it is vital to have an advocate who understands that public education is essential if we want to continue to provide all children with access to education.”

Arnold’s opponent, Republican Jason Carmichael, did not respond to Kansas Reflector requests for comment. He lost a bid for a seat on the Wichita Unified School District 259 board in 2023. During this election, he ran on the basis that “parental rights are the cornerstone” of society, KMUW reported. Carmichael believes in eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, supports teachers being allowed to carry guns to fight active shooters and opposes mandatory vaccination requirements, according to a questionnaire he filled out for iVoterGuide, which is affiliated with the Christian political nonprofit AFA Action.

There is a three-way race in the 10th District in south-central Kansas. Jeffrey Jarman, a Democrat, Debbie Potter, a Republican, and Kent Rowe, an independent, are vying for the position being vacated by moderate Republican Jim McNeice.

Jarman, a communications professor at Wichita State University and a member of the Maize Public Schools board, said in an email that if elected, he would advocate for stable funding and against school vouchers.

“While the Legislature appropriates funds, the board plays an important role in ensuring stable funding,” he said. “The current funding formula finally meets the minimum required by the state constitution, but it expires in 2027. I strongly support expanding the formula to provide stability to school districts.”

Jarman said he hopes to support local districts by improving educational outcomes and allocating existing funds to programs that help “the most vulnerable students,” he said.

“But,” he added, “the board is divided and decisions about how best to support our students are unfortunately politicized.”

Potter, who did not respond to Kansas Reflector requests for comment, homeschooled her children and said she was inspired to run when she thought about her grandchildren.

“I want them to not be indoctrinated from their faith and from their parents, and I feel like there’s a serious erosion of families going on,” she said at a candidate forum hosted by the Sedgwick County Republican Women’s Caucus ahead of the August primary.

She defeated another Republican candidate in the primary. “God is her campaign manager,” she said at the forum.

Potter considers herself “very conservative,” she wrote in responses to an iVoterGuide questionnaire. She supports arming licensed teachers, eliminating the federal Department of Education, and is a strong proponent of parental involvement in schools.

“While I believe that private education produces better results for less money, the general public has decided that public education is in the public interest,” she wrote. “To this end, I hope to encourage parents and teachers to take greater control (as they would with private education) by keeping them informed and encouraging them to become more involved in local school boards.”

Rowe, who did not respond to queries from the Kansas Reflector, is a member of the Green Party of Kansas, according to his campaign website. His priorities include maintaining funding for rural public schools, preventing high school book bans and addressing student mental health issues. He is a former Air Force professor of aeronautical science and former mayor of Longton, which is in Elk County.

• Anna Kaminski is a news reporter in Topeka. Kansas reflector.