Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

Hays Unified School District 489, Kansas, elections

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Hays Unified School District 489
School Board badge.png
District details
School board members: 7
Students: 3,425 (2022-2023)
Schools: 7 (2022-2023)
Website: Link

Hays Unified School District 489 is a school district in Kansas (Ellis and Rush counties). During the 2023 school year, 3,425 students attended one of the district's seven schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Elections

Do you know of an individual or group that endorsed a candidate for a position on this board? Click here to let us know.

Per our coverage scope, Ballotpedia does not provide election results for this particular race. Check your city or county government's election website for vote totals.

Hays Unified School District 489, At-large

General election

General election for Hays Unified School District 489, At-large (4 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Hays Unified School District 489, At-large on November 7, 2023.


Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Election rules

 

Election dates and frequency

See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing

School board nonpartisan primary elections in Kansas are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in August every two years in odd-numbered years. Primary elections are only held if more than three candidates run for one seat in a single-seat race or if the number of candidates for a multi-seat race is more than three times the number of open seats. If three or fewer candidates run for a school board seat, the primary is canceled and the candidates automatically advance to the general election.

School board general elections in Kansas are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in odd-numbered years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2021

Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts except Fort Leavenworth School District (USD 207)

Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts except Fort Leavenworth School District (USD 207). There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.

  • Filing deadline date: June 2, 2025
  • Primary election date: August 5, 2025
  • General election date: November 4, 2025

Election system

School board members in Kansas are elected through a system of a nonpartisan primary election and a nonpartisan general election. The primary election is only held if a large enough number of candidates run for office.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2006

School board members for the Fort Leavenworth School District (USD 207) are appointed by the commanding general of Fort Leavenworth. The Fort Leavenworth School District is located entirely within the Fort Leavenworth military base.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Kansas Statutes Section 72-533b

Party labels on the ballot

See also: Rules governing party labels in school board elections

School board elections in Kansas are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Kansas Statute Section 25-2009 states, "School elections shall be nonpartisan and laws applicable only to partisan elections shall not apply in such elections."

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2009

Winning an election

The school board candidate or candidates that receive the most votes in the general election are elected to office.

Primary elections are only held if more than three candidates run for one seat in a single-seat race or if the number of candidates for a multi-seat race is more than three times the number of open seats. If three or fewer candidates run for a school board seat, the primary is canceled and the candidates automatically advance to the general election. If there is a primary election, the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election for single-seat races, and the number of candidates with the most votes equal to twice the number of seats up for election advance to the general election for multi-seat races. In the general election, the candidate or candidates that receive the most votes are elected.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2021

Term length and staggering

School board members are elected to four-year terms.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2021

As close to an equal number of school board members as possible are up for regular election every odd-numbered year. This means three board member seats are up for election in one odd-numbered year and four seats are up for election in the following odd-numbered year for districts with the statute-set seven board members.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2018

Representation: at large vs. by sub-district

School board members are elected either at large or through a combination of at large and by sub-district, depending on the voting plan of the district. School boards choose a voting plan for each election from the following three options: (a) entirely at large in both the primary election and the general election, (b) through a sub-district method in the primary election and at large in the general election, or (c) through a sub-district method in both the primary election and general election. If using a sub-district method, the school district can have six sub-districts, three sub-districts, or two sub-districts. Each sub-district method requires one member elected at large. For the method with six sub-districts, one member is elected from each sub-district. For the method with three sub-districts, two members are elected from each sub-district. For the method with two sub-districts, three members are elected from each sub-district. As of 2022, 190 school districts (66%) elected all of their board members at large, and 96 school districts (34%) used one of the methods involving one at-large member and six members elected from six, three, or two sub-districts.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Kansas Statute Section 25-2004

Kansas Statute Section 25-2005

Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates

The filing deadline for school board candidates is 12 p.m. on June 1 of the election year or the following day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-205

Newly elected school board members take office on the second Monday in January following the election.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2023

 


About the district

School board

The Hays Unified School District 489 consists of seven members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Allen Park2028
Jayme Goetz20242028
Ruth Ruder20242028
Derek Yarmer20242028
Ken Brooks2026
Curt Vajnar2026
Meagan Zampieri-Lillpopp2026

Join the conversation about school board politics

Ballotpedia's Hall Pass

Your Ticket to Understanding School Board Politics



District map

Overlapping state house districts

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2020-2021
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $7,012,000 $2,177 14%
Local: $17,608,000 $5,467 35%
State: $26,183,000 $8,129 52%
Total: $50,803,000 $15,772
Expenditures, 2020-2021
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $51,080,000 $15,858
Total Current Expenditures: $49,190,000 $15,271
Instructional Expenditures: $31,859,000 $9,891 62%
Student and Staff Support: $3,841,000 $1,192 8%
Administration: $4,467,000 $1,386 9%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $9,023,000 $2,801 18%
Total Capital Outlay: $1,888,000 $586
Construction: $758,000 $235
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $0 $0
Interest on Debt: $0 $0

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 36 >=50 <50 15-19 30-34 39
2018-2019 42 >=50 <50 15-19 PS 35-39 45
2017-2018 40 >=50 PS 6-9 PS 20-29 42
2016-2017 40 60-79 21-39 15-19 <=20 30-34 42
2015-2016 41 60-79 <50 15-19 <50 35-39 43
2014-2015 41 60-79 >=50 10-14 <50 40-49 44
2012-2013 84 >=80 >=50 70-79 50-59 70-79 85
2011-2012 95 >=80 >=80 80-84 >=80 >=90 96
2010-2011 94 >=80 >=80 >=90 >=90 >=90 94

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 47 >=50 >=50 30-34 40-44 48
2018-2019 44 >=50 <50 25-29 PS 35-39 46
2017-2018 41 >=50 PS 10-14 PS 20-29 43
2016-2017 43 60-79 21-39 15-19 <=20 30-34 46
2015-2016 48 40-59 <50 20-24 <50 45-49 51
2014-2015 51 60-79 >=50 15-19 >=50 50-59 53
2012-2013 93 >=80 >=50 >=90 60-69 80-89 93
2011-2012 96 >=80 >=80 90-94 60-79 >=90 97
2010-2011 97 >=80 >=80 >=90 >=90 >=90 97

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 91 PS PS >=80 >=50 90-94
2018-2019 93 PS >=50 >=50 >=95
2017-2018 88 PS >=50 PS 90-94
2016-2017 88 PS PS >=80 PS >=50 85-89
2015-2016 85-89 PS PS >=80 >=50 85-89
2014-2015 85-89 PS >=50 PS >=50 85-89
2013-2014 86 PS PS >=50 PS >=50 85-89
2012-2013 90 PS >=50 60-79 PS PS 90-94
2011-2012 85 PS >=50 60-79 PS PS 85-89
2010-2011 85-89 PS PS PS >=50 PS 85-89

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2022-2023 3,425 4.4
2021-2022 3,273 1.6
2020-2021 3,221 0.4
2019-2020 3,207 0.7
2018-2019 3,184 0.8
2017-2018 3,157 -0.3
2016-2017 3,167 2.0
2015-2016 3,105 1.2
2014-2015 3,068 1.8
2013-2014 3,013 -1.7
2012-2013 3,064 -1.4
2011-2012 3,108 -0.2
2010-2011 3,113 5.8
2009-2010 2,934 1.2
2008-2009 2,898 -7.0
2007-2008 3,102 0.7
2006-2007 3,079 1.7
2005-2006 3,026 -5.1
2004-2005 3,181 -2.8
2003-2004 3,271 -3.9
2002-2003 3,399 -0.4
2001-2002 3,414 0.5
2000-2001 3,398 -1.7
1999-2000 3,455 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2022-2023
RACE Hays Unified School District 489 (%) Kansas K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.2 0.7
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 1.1 2.8
Black 1.6 6.7
Hispanic 12.5 21.5
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.0 0.2
Two or More Races 5.1 6.2
White 79.7 61.9

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2022-2023 school year, Hays Unified School District 489 had 193.70 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 17.68.

Teachers, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 15.80
Kindergarten: 53.34
Elementary: 47.20
Secondary: 77.36
Total: 193.70

Hays Unified School District 489 employed 4.00 district administrators and 13.00 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.

Administrators, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 4.00
District Administrative Support: 11.50
School Administrators: 13.00
School Administrative Support: 20.50
Other staff, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 118.20
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 2.00
Total Guidance Counselors: 8.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 0.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 0.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 2.75
Library/Media Support: 2.90
Student Support Services: 42.50
Other Support Services: 63.50

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

The Hays Unified School District 489 operates seven schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Hays High9599-12
Hays Middle School7396-8
Hays Virtual School153KG-12
Kathryn O'Loughlin Mccarthy Elem384KG-5
Lincoln Elem376PK-5
Roosevelt Elem385KG-5
Woodrow Wilson Elem384KG-5

About school boards

Education legislation in Kansas

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics Kansas
School Board badge.png
Education Policy Icon.png
Local Politics Image.jpg
Seal of Kansas.png

External links

  • Office website
  • Search Google News for this topic
  • Footnotes