Two conservative Republicans have won seats on the Kansas State Board of Education and join four other conservative Republicans to tilt the ideological balance on the 10-member board.
In District 4 in northeast Kansas, Republican Connie O’Brien — a retired teacher who served four terms in the Kansas House — edged Democrat Kris Meyer with 51% of the vote.
Republican Debby Potter, a homeschooler who supports school choice, was elected to represent District 10, an area that covers southern Sedgwick County.
They join four other board members — Michelle Dombrosky, Cathy Hopkins, Dennis Hershberger and Danny Zeck —who won election two years ago on a campaign against what they described as “woke” leanings in public schools.
Together, they make a 6 to 4 conservative majority on the Board.
O’Brien says she opposes diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, books about gender identity, and what she calls “transgender nonsense.”
Potter’s campaign website describes her as an advocate for “parental empowerment and school choice.”
Speaking to a Republican women’s club during her primary campaign, Potter said she was 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 at the forum. “I feel like there’s a lot of undermining of the families going on.”
The existing four conservative members of the Board have expressed frustration with Kansas public school policies and secured seats on the Board of Education by speaking out against lessons on racism, sexuality and gender identity. They also say parents should have more control over what happens in classrooms.
Several times, they have voted no or abstained on key policy decisions, including kindergarten readiness standards and federal funding for homeless students.
New and Arnold Elected
Two incumbent Democrats — Betty Arnold in Wichita and Melanie Haas in Johnson County — held on to their seats on the state board. They will be joined by Democrat Beryl New who will represent District 6, which includes Lawrence and Topeka.
“There are conversations about vouchers, about privatizing education, and I know people have reasons for their agendas, but what we ought to always remember is that there are young people whose families cannot afford anything other than public education,” said New, a former Topeka educator.
Arnold, a former Wichita school board member, said she’s concerned that issues such as book-banning have dominated school board races in recent years rather than student achievement.
“I’m more concerned about getting kids to read. I’m more concerned about the percentage of kids that are falling way behind in math,” she said during a Democratic watch party at Wichita State University. “I’m concerned about kids feeling safe, and I have yet to see a kid being killed by books.”
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.
Suzanne Perez with the Kansas News Service and reporters from the Kansas Reflector contributed to this story.