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Haysville Unified School District 261, Kansas, elections

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Haysville Unified School District 261
School Board badge.png
District details
School board members: 7
Next election: November 4, 2025
Students: 5,528 (2023-2024)
Schools: 9 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

Haysville Unified School District 261 is a school district in Kansas (Sedgwick County). During the 2024 school year, 5,528 students attended one of the district's nine schools.

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

Elections

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Haysville Unified School District 261 school board At-large

General election

The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.

General election for Haysville Unified School District 261 school board At-large (3 seats)

Incumbent Jeremy Bennett, incumbent Kelly Ramseyer, and incumbent Courtney Williams are running in the general election for Haysville Unified School District 261 school board At-large on November 4, 2025.

Candidate
Jeremy Bennett (Nonpartisan)
Kelly Ramseyer (Nonpartisan)
Courtney Williams (Nonpartisan)

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Haysville Unified School District 261 school board At-large

General election

General election for Haysville Unified School District 261 school board At-large (4 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Haysville Unified School District 261 school board At-large on November 7, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
Jennifer Bain (Nonpartisan)
 
22.4
 
1,519
Barbara Walters (Nonpartisan)
 
18.8
 
1,275
Tosha White (Nonpartisan)
 
17.0
 
1,154
Greg Fenster (Nonpartisan)
 
14.6
 
991
Tom Gibson (Nonpartisan)
 
13.8
 
937
Jerome Crawford (Nonpartisan)
 
12.8
 
866
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.7
 
50

Total votes: 6,792
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Haysville Unified School District 261 school board At-large

General election

General election for Haysville Unified School District 261 school board At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Haysville Unified School District 261 school board At-large on November 2, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
Kelly Ramseyer (Nonpartisan)
 
19.1
 
906
Courtney Williams (Nonpartisan)
 
18.3
 
865
Jeremy Bennett (Nonpartisan)
 
15.1
 
713
Con Howerton (Nonpartisan)
 
14.4
 
680
Jerome Crawford (Nonpartisan)
 
13.2
 
626
David Kahmann (Nonpartisan)
 
9.9
 
468
Jason Welch (Nonpartisan)
 
8.8
 
415
 Other/Write-in votes
 
1.4
 
64

Total votes: 4,737
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Haysville Unified School District 261 school board At-large

General election

General election for Haysville Unified School District 261 school board At-large (4 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Haysville Unified School District 261 school board At-large on November 5, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
Susan Norton (Nonpartisan)
 
22.1
 
1,051
Jennifer Bain (Nonpartisan)
 
18.0
 
858
Tom Gibson (Nonpartisan)
 
15.7
 
748
Greg Fenster (Nonpartisan)
 
13.4
 
637
Mitch Lindsay (Nonpartisan)
 
11.2
 
536
Mike Fussell (Nonpartisan)
 
11.1
 
529
Wade Buller (Nonpartisan)
 
7.7
 
367
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.8
 
39

Total votes: 4,765
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Haysville Unified School District 261 school board At-large

General election

Special general election for Haysville Unified School District 261 school board At-large

Jerome Crawford won election in the special general election for Haysville Unified School District 261 school board At-large on November 5, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
Jerome Crawford (Nonpartisan)
 
97.1
 
1,195
 Other/Write-in votes
 
2.9
 
36

Total votes: 1,231
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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 Haysville Unified School District 261 consists of seven members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameSeatYear assumed officeYear term ends
Greg FensterAt-large2028
Barbara WaltersAt-large20242028
Tosha WhiteAt-large20242028
Jennifer BainAt-large20202028
Jeremy BennettAt-large2026
Kelly RamseyerAt-large20222026
Courtney WilliamsAt-large20222026

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District map

Overlapping state house districts

Haysville Unified School District 261
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
Kansas House of Representatives District 93Brian BergkampRepublican Party 38% 5%
Kansas House of Representatives District 97Nick HoheiselRepublican Party 36% 41%
Kansas House of Representatives District 98Cyndi HowertonRepublican Party 26% 43%

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, 2021-2022
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $6,668,000 $1,154 8%
Local: $9,730,000 $1,684 12%
State: $66,344,000 $11,484 80%
Total: $82,742,000 $14,323
Expenditures, 2021-2022
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $78,058,000 $13,511
Total Current Expenditures: $71,617,000 $12,396
Instructional Expenditures: $41,503,000 $7,184 53%
Student and Staff Support: $11,077,000 $1,917 14%
Administration: $6,851,000 $1,185 9%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $12,186,000 $2,109 16%
Total Capital Outlay: $3,414,000 $590
Construction: $701,000 $121
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $3,000 $0
Interest on Debt: $3,024,000 $523

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 18 30-34 <=10 14 <50 15-19 20
2018-2019 25 40-44 <=10 18 <=20 20-24 27
2017-2018 26 45-49 20-29 18 <=20 25-29 28
2016-2017 29 45-49 <=10 21 <50 25-29 31
2015-2016 32 55-59 11-19 26 <50 30-34 33
2014-2015 31 40-44 20-29 23 <50 25-29 32
2012-2013 84 90-94 70-79 83 >=80 80-84 84
2011-2012 88 >=95 80-89 85-89 >=90 85-89 87
2010-2011 85 90-94 >=80 80-84 80-89 80-84 85

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 29 40-44 11-19 23 <50 25-29 31
2018-2019 30 35-39 11-19 21 <=20 25-29 32
2017-2018 30 35-39 11-19 24 <=20 30-34 32
2016-2017 32 40-44 11-19 24 <50 25-29 34
2015-2016 38 50-54 20-29 32 <50 30-34 39
2014-2015 37 45-49 20-29 30 <50 30-34 39
2012-2013 90 90-94 80-89 88 >=80 85-89 90
2011-2012 91 >=95 70-79 90-94 >=90 90-94 90
2010-2011 88 90-94 >=80 85-89 80-89 85-89 88

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 86 >=80 >=50 85-89 PS >=80 86
2018-2019 88 >=50 >=50 90-94 PS >=80 87
2017-2018 91 >=80 >=50 >=90 PS >=90 90
2016-2017 91 >=50 >=50 85-89 >=90 >=80 90-94
2015-2016 92 >=80 >=50 >=90 PS 60-79 90-94
2014-2015 89 >=80 PS >=90 >=50 >=80 85-89
2013-2014 88 >=50 PS 80-89 PS >=80 89
2012-2013 90 >=50 >=50 >=90 >=50 >=80 90-94
2011-2012 89 >=50 >=50 >=80 PS >=80 90
2010-2011 85 >=50 PS 70-79 >=50 >=50 86

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 (%)
2023-2024 5,528 -4.7
2022-2023 5,788 0.2
2021-2022 5,777 0.8
2020-2021 5,732 -4.0
2019-2020 5,959 2.5
2018-2019 5,811 0.6
2017-2018 5,776 2.3
2016-2017 5,646 1.5
2015-2016 5,562 1.1
2014-2015 5,502 2.3
2013-2014 5,374 0.1
2012-2013 5,367 2.4
2011-2012 5,238 -0.7
2010-2011 5,274 4.1
2009-2010 5,056 2.6
2008-2009 4,925 1.7
2007-2008 4,840 2.3
2006-2007 4,730 1.6
2005-2006 4,653 -0.2
2004-2005 4,662 -0.6
2003-2004 4,690 2.2
2002-2003 4,588 0.2
2001-2002 4,578 -2.6
2000-2001 4,697 6.2
1999-2000 4,408 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE Haysville Unified School District 261 (%) Kansas K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.4 0.7
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 2.9 2.8
Black 2.4 6.6
Hispanic 20.2 22.0
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.8 0.2
Two or More Races 9.8 6.3
White 63.4 61.3

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 2023-2024 school year, Haysville Unified School District 261 had 384.69 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 14.37.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 14.00
Kindergarten: 59.90
Elementary: 108.10
Secondary: 202.69
Total: 384.69

Haysville Unified School District 261 employed 5.00 district administrators and 22.00 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 5.00
District Administrative Support: 13.00
School Administrators: 22.00
School Administrative Support: 35.00
Other staff, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 241.00
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 14.00
Total Guidance Counselors: 15.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 0.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 0.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 9.00
Library/Media Support: 10.00
Student Support Services: 60.50
Other Support Services: 216.00

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 Haysville Unified School District 261 operates nine schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Campus High Haysville1,8339-12
Freeman Elem429PK-5
Haysville Middle School7376-8
Haysville West Middle School5386-8
Nelson Elem438PK-5
Oatville Elem361PK-5
Prairie Elementary School431KG-5
Rex Elem441PK-5
Ruth Clark Elementary K-5320PK-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
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External links

  • Office website
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  • Footnotes