Witness 2024 Partisan Battle For Kansas State Board Of Education

Way, way down ballot but likely impacting more people than most voters realize.

Here's a low-key contest that's worth considering for both sides . . .

Currently, four of the 10 board members 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 . . .

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.

“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,” A FORMER STATE BOARD MEMBER said. “We need people that want to work with other people and not just determine that it’s their way or the highway.”

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

November election could shift political makeup of Kansas State Board of Education