WICHITA, Kansas — The race for five seats on the Kansas State Board of Education could dramatically shift the board’s political makeup, which could reshape academic standards or the way schools approach social-emotional learning.
Currently, four of the 10 board members — Michelle Dombrosky, Cathy Hopkins, Dennis Hershberger and Danny Zeck — are conservative Republicans who campaigned in recent elections against what they described as “woke” leanings in public schools.
They spoke out against lessons on racism, sexuality and gender identity, as well as efforts to be more inclusive of trans kids. Several times, the four conservative board members have voted no or abstained on key policy decisions, including allocations to local districts of millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funding.
This year, three of the board’s moderate members — Deena Horst of Salina, Ann Mah of Topeka and Jim McNiece of Wichita — are not running for reelection. And that worries some public school advocates.
“Our concern is that they always have to have six votes to pass anything,” said Sally Cauble, a former state school board member. “And this election could swing that board very much to the right.”
Cauble belongs to Kansans for Excellence in Education, a political action committee that recently endorsed all five Democratic candidates for state school board. The group was created by a handful of moderate former board members who fear that a political shakeup could affect history standards or social-emotional learning in schools.
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“Unfortunately, many of the people running for school boards are being fed the wrong materials and aren’t even clear on what the state board can and cannot do,” Cauble said. “We need people that want to work with other people and not just determine that it’s their way or the highway.”
Members of the Kansas Board of Education serve four-year terms. They set subject-area academic standards and graduation requirements but do not make specific curriculum decisions — those are up to local school boards.
The board also doesn’t make decisions about school funding. Those issues are handled by the Kansas Legislature and governor.
In District 4 near Kansas City, Kan., Democrat Kris Meyer faces Republican Connie O’Brien. Meyer is a former teacher and school administrator; O’Brien is a former state lawmaker and self-described “ultra-conservative.”
During a recent candidate forum hosted by the Johnson County Post, Meyer advocated for additional funding for special education and policies to encourage teacher retention. O’Brien said Kansas schools get enough money and need to use it more wisely.
“Reading, writing and math — history, civics — those kinds of subjects need to be prevalent in our public education. And right now, they’re not necessarily prevalent,” O’Brien said.
In District 10 near Wichita, Democrat Jeff Jarman — a Wichita State University professor and former Maize school board member — faces Republican Debby Potter. During the primary, Potter pointed to her experience as a homeschooler and an endorsement from the anti-abortion group Kansans for Life.
At a Republican forum, Potter said she’s running for the state board because she’s concerned about the public schools her grandchildren might attend.
“I want them not to be indoctrinated away from … their faith and away from their parents,” Potter said. “And I feel like there’s a lot of undermining of the families going on.”
In District 2 near Kansas City, board president and Democratic incumbent Melanie Haas faces Republican Fred Postlewait, a retired computer systems manager.
In District 6, which includes Topeka, Lawrence and Emporia, Democrat Beryl New faces Republican Bruce Schultz.
And in District 8 in Wichita, incumbent Democrat Betty Arnold – a former Wichita school board member – faces Republican Jason Carmichael, a property manager who ran unsuccessfully for Wichita school board last year.
Cauble, the former state board member, said she ran in 2006 after the Kansas board made national news for approving science standards that cast doubt on the theory of evolution. She said any political shift at the state level can affect what’s taught in Kansas classrooms.
“The state board has a very specific and important role according to our Constitution,” she said. “We want people who believe in and appreciate public education.”
Suzanne Perez reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @SuzPerezICT.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KMUW, KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
See more at ksnewsservice.org.
