Voters in seven local school districts on Tuesday chose board members and approved ballot measures addressing school finances.
The districts with school board elections this year included some of the state’s largest, such as North Kansas City, Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs, Independence and Park Hill. Two smaller Kansas City districts, Hickman Mills and Center, also held school board elections.
Voters in both the Hickman Mills and Independence school districts approved bond issues that won’t increase the tax rate, according to unofficial results from the April 7 election. Those bonds will allow the districts to fund building projects and, in Hickman Mills’ case, get rid of debt that was being repaid from its operations fund.
Hickman Mills voters also approved a measure that will shift money to its operations fund that isn’t needed for debt repayment, also without affecting the overall tax rate.
Combined, the two Hickman Mills measures are expected to free up more than $3 million for the operations budget annually, helping reduce a budget deficit.
Read ahead to see who your new — or continuing — board members are.
Blue Springs
In Blue Springs, five candidates vied for three open spots on the board. The three winning candidates were:
- Allison Johnston (27.3%)
- Rebeca Swank (25%)
- Ken Horrell (20.7%)
Johnston is a Blue Springs graduate and parent with more than 10 years of program management experience. She promised to listen to families and staff, use data to inform decisions and “ensure transparent communication and responsible oversight.”
Swank is a parent, incumbent board member and chief development officer for a nonprofit. She said she’ll be a champion for the community’s “educational needs and aspirations” and celebrate achievements within the district.
Horrell, who is retired, is a grandparent of current students and has a background in management and strategic planning. He said he wants to support teacher recruitment and retention, advocate for fair funding at all levels and promote clear AI and technology guidelines.
Read more about all of the candidates here.
Center School District
The Center School District had four candidates on the ballot. The three with the highest number of votes won. They are:
- Kristin Stokely (35.7%)
- Marsha Brown (26.1%)
- Melissa Bellante (26.1%)
Stokely spent 11 years as an attorney for the state of Missouri. She wants to “optimize funding to support teachers,” publicize the support available for families and increase awareness of Parents as Teachers.
Brown is a retired educator with nearly 50 years of experience. She said she wants to “establish clear priorities for student learning,” recruit and retain qualified staff and improve partnerships between families and school.
Bellante is a third-generation Center alum who has spent most of her career working in public education. She cited understanding low test scores, improving family engagement and examining success outside of test scores as priorities.
Read more about all of the candidates here.
Hickman Mills
Bond issue
Hickman Mills voters approved a $20 million general obligation bond with more than 80% in favor and less than 20% opposed. The district has said the bond will not increase the tax rate.
A general obligation bond is the way for the district to borrow money and pay it back with tax dollars, mainly for building and facilities upgrades and repairs.
It can’t be used directly for day-to-day operations, but the district plans to use more than half of it to eliminate debt from another type of bond that is being paid out of the operating fund. That will free up about $1.3 million to $1.5 million per year for operations while the bond is repaid from the separate debt service levy.
The rest will go toward projects such as new stadium lights, improvements at Warford Elementary School and HVAC, roof and plumbing repairs.
Tax levy transfer
Hickman Mills voters also approved a change that would send more tax dollars to the operating fund instead of the debt service levy. Voters were nearly 75% in favor and about 25% opposed. The overall tax rate would stay the same.
The district anticipates that the levy transfer will add an additional $2 million per year to the operating fund without raising taxes. Officials said the district can afford to make the transfer because it is collecting more than it needs to keep up with existing debts, even with the new $20 million bond.
Read more about both ballot measures here.
School board
Five candidates, including all three incumbents up for election, were vying for three spots on the Hickman Mills school board. In a close race, four candidates were within 100 votes of each other. The candidates who appeared to have won were:
- Byron Townsend (21.4%)
- Irene Kendrick (21.2%)
- Evelyn Hildebrand (20.4%)
But April Cushing, an incumbent, was close behind with 19.8% of the vote.
Townsend, who is retired, is an incumbent board member. He plans to address key issues facing the district by continuing to apply for grants, seeking additional tax revenue and reminding government bodies how tax incentives hurt school districts.
Kendrick, who is semiretired, is an incumbent and also serves as an alderman for Grandview. She said she wants to expand Real World Learning, prioritize certified teachers and interventionists and promote financial stability.
Hildebrand is retired from Sprint and works as a substitute teacher. She said accreditation is one of her top priorities.
Cushing, who is retired, is an incumbent board member and president of Ruskin Hills HOA. She said she is listening to the community about the district’s financial deficit and lack of full accreditation.
Read more about all of the candidates here.
Independence School District
Bond issue
Independence School District voters approved a $60 million bond with nearly 73% of voters in favor.
The bond will be used for projects at nearly all of the district’s schools, especially remodeling and renovating three elementary schools: Fairmount, Korte and Procter. The district said it will not increase the tax rate.
Read more about the bond issue here.
School board
Four candidates ran for two spots on the board. Independence school board members serve six-year terms, twice as long as the three-year terms common in other area districts.
In a close race, the two winning candidates appeared to be:
- Sarah Wimberly (29.7%)
- Justin Durham (23.7%)
But Zac Harmon-McLaughlin and Jeffery Jewell were close behind with 23% of the vote and 22.9% of the vote, respectively.
Wimberley is an ordained United Methodist minister at St. Mark’s UMC in Independence. She said her goals include asking more questions about virtual education, field trips and programming on Mondays when school is closed.
Durham is an education architect at Hollis + Miller Architects. He said his goals include facility improvements, better student engagement and teacher and staff retention.
Read more about all of the candidates here.
Lee’s Summit school board
A crowded field of seven candidates appeared on Lee’s Summit school board ballots, competing for just three spots. Three incumbents ran alongside four challengers, though one of the challengers suspended his campaign.
Preliminary results show the winning candidates are:
- Kamile Johnson (19.3%)
- Erica Dolores Miller (17.9%)
- Rodrick K. Sparks (17.6%)
Johnson is a pharmacist and current school board member. She said her priorities include protecting public funding, improving access to advanced coursework and increasing pay for teachers and staff.
Miller is a manager of employee health and well-being for GEHA. She said her focus areas include mental health services, teacher and staff retention and enhancing special education.
Sparks is an escrow assistant who has previously served on the board. He said he wants to improve communication with families, oppose efforts to divert public funding and advocate for more resources for classrooms and teachers.
Read more about all of the candidates here.
North Kansas City school board
Three candidates ran for two spots on the North Kansas City school board this year. The winning candidates are:
- Laura Wagner (47.9%)
- Karee Gleason-Miller (33.4%)
Wagner is an incumbent board member and a public engagement and communications manager at HNTB. She said she will review recommendations to keep the budget in check and ensure it directly supports students, teachers and staff.
Gleason-Miller, also an incumbent board member, is a legal operations specialist at C2FO. She said she will lead implementation of the 2025 bond, launch the new strategic plan and promote fair school funding.
Read more about all of the candidates here.
Park Hill school board
Four Park Hill school board candidates sought three open spots on the board this year. After voters weighed in, the winning candidates are:
- Alexia Norris (29.8%)
- Janice Bolin (26.4%)
- Deanna Munoz (25.4%)
Norris is a current board member, parent and attorney with Polsinelli. She said she wants to promote school safety, support teachers with salaries and professional development and ensure spending transparency for the facilities plan.
Bolin is an incumbent board member and director of soccer operations for the Kansas City Current. She said she wants to recruit and retain quality staff, keep public tax dollars in public education and support transparent and efficient spending.
Munoz is founder of the Chicano Center for the Arts and director of organizing for the Latinx Education Collaborative. She said her priorities include supporting teachers, academic excellence and responsible budgeting.
Read more about all of the candidates here.
This story was originally published by The Beacon, a fellow member of the Kansas City Media Collective.
