TOPEKA — Change in the Kansas Board of Education after the November election could tip the board’s balance of power in favor of conservative members.

Half of the 10 seats on the board are up for election. Republicans currently outnumber Democrats seven to three, but the fact that some moderate board members are not running for re-election positions the board against a potential ideological shakeup. All five races are contested, with 12 candidates differentiating themselves on key issues like parental rights, public school funding and school safety ahead of Nov. 5.

While the board’s mandate is oversight of the Kansas Department of Education and control of public schools, it has little control over funding, which is the responsibility of the legislature.

Two incumbents are running for reelection, and a pair of three-way races could split the conservative vote. Most of the Republican candidates in this election agree with the current board’s conservative faction on issues such as religion in schools, arming teachers, and parental involvement in educational and operational decisions.

At an Oct. 6 forum in Lawrence, northeast 4th District candidate Kris Meyer criticized four conservative members on the current board and believes they are “trying to create distrust in our public schools in the state of Kansas.”

These four board members (Danny Zeck, Michelle Dombrosky, Cathy Hopkins and Dennis Hershberger) are not up for re-election until 2026.

In District 2, which represents school districts in Johnson and Wyandotte counties, incumbent Melanie Haas, a Democrat and technology executive, is trying to retain her seat in a three-way race. He faces Republican challenger Fred Postlewait and independent Kiel Corkran. Haas was first elected in 2020 and is the current chairman of the board. He was supported by the Kansas National Education Association, the state’s public educators union, and advocated for fully funding public schools.

Postlewait, a retired computer systems manager, decided to run for the board to address the decline in ACT scores, which have trended downward since 2014 but saw a sharp decline in 2020.

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

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

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

O’Brien bested two other Republican candidates in the August primary after Attorney General Kris Kobach endorsed him by urging conservatives to vote for him.

He will focus on changes in vocational and technical education, promoting parental rights and supporting teachers, he said in a video posted on YouTube.

O’Brien, who did not respond to requests for comment from the Kansas Reflector, said at a candidate forum at the Lawrence Public Library on Oct. 6 that he does not support vouchers and added that private school and homeschool parents “don’t want the government in them.” face.”

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

Meyer told the Kansas Reflector he will focus on fully funding public education, especially special education, addressing teacher shortages and retention issues, and strengthening mental health support for students.

“I want to ensure that the state board continues to set clear standards and advocate for policies and funding that ensure all students receive a quality education,” he said. “This includes pushing back against legislative overreach that would impede the state board’s constitutional mandate.”

Republican Deena Horst is not running for re-election in the 6th District, which covers most of the Lawrence city limits. Democrat Beryl Ann New, retired personnel and equity director for Topeka Public Schools, and Republican Bruce Schultz, retired professor of anatomy and physiology at Kansas State University, are running to represent school districts in north-central and northeastern Kansas. cities of Lawrence and Topeka.

New told the Kansas Reflector that his goal if elected is to address poor student performance and safety in schools during his first year.

“I will collaborate with board members to ensure resources are provided to schools whose students are below grade level in reading comprehension, provide funding to ensure Kansas schools remain safe and secure, and firmly support full funding of all Kansas schools with 100 students. New, a percentage of funds are state-only “He goes to school,” he said.

He also said he supports teacher retention and vetted alternative teaching programs to address shortages. At the Oct. 6 forum in Lawrence, New said the main reason he’s seeing teachers leave the profession is inadequate compensation.

Schultz, who did not respond to questions from the Kansas Reflector, said at the forum that he did not think increasing teacher salaries was the right answer to teacher retention problems and shortages. Instead, he said he preferred an approach that would increase retention in teaching.

“We need to reform the system to allow and encourage greater community involvement,” he said.

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

In the Wichita district’s 8th District, Democrat Betty Arnold, a former Wichita school board member, is seeking to retain the post she has held since 2021. It aims 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 support for public education, it is vital to have an advocate who understands that public education is essential if we want to maintain access to education for all children.”

Arnold’s opponent, Republican Jason Carmichael, did not respond to requests for comment from the Kansas Reflector. He lost a bid to sit on the board of Unified School District 259 in Wichita in 2023. During this election, he ran on the assumption that “parental rights are the cornerstone of society,” KMUW reported. Carmichael believes the U.S. Department of Education should be abolished, supports teachers being authorized to carry guns to combat an active shooter and opposes mandatory vaccine requirements, according to a survey he filled out for iVoterGuide, affiliated with Christian political nonprofit AFA Action.

A three-way race is underway in the 10th District in southcentral Kansas. Democrat Jeffrey Jarman, Republican Debby Potter and independent candidate Kent Rowe are running for the position vacated by moderate Republican Jim McNiece.

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

“As the legislature appropriates funds, the board has an important role to play in advocating for 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 for school districts.”

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

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

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

“I want them to not be washed away from their faith and their parents, and I feel like families have been undermined so much,” she said at a candidate forum hosted by the Republican Women’s Association of Sedgwick County. August primaries.

He defeated another Republican hopeful in the primary. He said at the forum that God was his campaign manager.

Potter wrote in his responses to the iVoterGuide survey that he considers himself “very conservative.” He supports arming licensed teachers, eliminating the federal education department, and is a strong advocate for parental involvement in schools.

“Although I believe private education would provide better results for less money, the general public has decided that public education is in the public interest,” he wrote. “To that end, I hope to give parents and teachers more control by informing them and encouraging their greater involvement in local school boards (as in special education).”

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