Kansas City Kansas Public Schools elections (2017)
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Five of the seven seats on the Kansas City Kansas Public Schools Board of Education in Kansas were up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. Three of the seats were up for regular election to four-year terms, and two of the seats were up for special election to two-year terms due to vacancies that required appointments to the board.
In the election for the three four-year terms, incumbent Irene Caudillo lost her seat as Maxine Drew, Wanda Brownlee Paige, and Stacy Yeager won election. Challengers Joseph Straws III and Maria Ysaac also lost. In the special election, appointed incumbent Janey Humphries and newcomer Harold Brown won two-year terms, defeating incumbent Rick Behrens and challengers Harold Brown and Korri Hall-Thompson.[1][2][3]
The 2017 election had the same average number of candidates running per seat and the same rate of uncontested seats as the district's 2015 election, but it elected more newcomers to the board. Click here to read about election trends in the district.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Kansas City Kansas Board of Education consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. Elections are held at large on a staggered basis every November of odd-numbered years. Four seats were up for election on April 7, 2015, and five seats—three regular four-year terms and two two-year terms due to vacancies on the board—were up for election on November 7, 2017.[2][3][4][5] A primary election would have been held on August 1, 2017, if more than three candidates had filed to run per seat.[1]
Prior to 2017, board of education elections were held in the spring of odd-numbered years. House Bill 2104 changed all school board election dates in Kansas to November of odd-numbered years. It was signed into law on June 8, 2015.[6]
To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file by June 1, 2017.[5] To vote in the election, citizens of the school district had to register by October 17, 2017.[7] Photo identification was required to vote in Kansas.[8]
Candidates and results
At-large (4-year terms)
Results
| Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Stacy Yeager |
21.38% | 5,077 |
| Maxine Drew |
19.80% | 4,701 |
| Wanda Brownlee Paige |
18.19% | 4,318 |
| Irene Caudillo Incumbent | 15.85% | 3,764 |
| Joseph Straws III | 13.07% | 3,102 |
| Maria Ysaac | 11.43% | 2,713 |
| Write-in votes | 0.28% | 67 |
| Total Votes | 23,742 | |
| Source: Wyandotte County, "2017 General Election (Results): Official Results," accessed November 17, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Irene Caudillo | Maxine Drew 
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Wanda Brownlee Paige
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| Joseph Straws III | Stacy Yeager
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Maria Ysaac | |||
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At-large (2-year terms)
Results
| Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, At-large General Election, 2-year terms, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Janey Humphries Incumbent |
27.73% | 4,542 |
| Harold Brown |
26.15% | 4,283 |
| Korri Hall-Thompson | 23.64% | 3,872 |
| Rick Behrens Incumbent | 22.14% | 3,627 |
| Write-in votes | 0.35% | 57 |
| Total Votes | 16,381 | |
| Source: Wyandotte County, "2017 General Election (Results): Official Results," accessed November 17, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Rick Behrens | Janey Humphries
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| Harold Brown
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Korri Hall-Thompson | ||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Kansas elections, 2017
The Kansas City Kansas Board of Education election shared the ballot with elections for the Kansas City Kansas Community College board of trustees.[1]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Kansas school board elections in 2017:[5][7][9]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| June 1, 2017 | Candidate filing deadline |
| July 11, 2017 | Voter registration deadline for primary election |
| August 1, 2017 | Primary election (if needed) |
| August 31, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline for primary election |
| October 17, 2017 | Voter registration deadline for general election |
| November 7, 2017 | General election |
| December 7, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline for general election |
| January 8, 2018 | Board members take office |
Endorsements
MainPAC, the political action committee for the MainStream Coalition, endorsed incumbent Irene Caudillo in the race for the four-year terms and incumbents Rick Behrens and Janey Humphries in the race for the two-year terms.[10] Equality Kansas endorsed Maria Ysaac for the four-year term election and Behrens for the two-year term election.[11]
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
The Wyandotte County Election Office does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Reporting requirements
School board candidates in Kansas were required to file campaign finance reports 30 days after each primary, general, or special election. For 2017, campaign finance reports were due on August 31, 2017, if there was a primary election, and on December 7, 2017.[9]
School board candidates were required to file finance reports with their county election office if they raised or spent more than $500 for their campaigns. If they did not meet that threshold, they had to file paperwork indicating that by July 23, 2017.[9]
Past elections
To see results from past elections in Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, click here.
What was at stake?
Election trends
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
The 2017 Kansas City Kansas Board of Education election mirrored the district's 2015 election in two ways. Both years saw an average of two candidates file to run per seat, and both years had no unopposed seats on the ballot. With two open seats and two incumbents defeated in their bids for re-election, however, the 2017 election added more newcomers to the board than the 2015 election added.
| School board election trends | ||||||
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| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Kansas City Kansas Public Schools | ||||||
| 2017 | 2.00 | 0.00% | 60.00% | 33.33% | 80.00% | |
| 2015 | 2.00 | 0.00% | 75.00% | 100.00% | 25.00% | |
| Kansas | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.86 | 28.57% | 78.57% | 95.45% | 25.00% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
Issues in the district
Board passes resolution on immigration status of students
 Sanctuary policy conflicts | |
| Kansas City Kansas Public Schools was one of 15 districts tracked by Ballotpedia that debated sanctuary policies as of October 16, 2017. Learn more about these debates on Ballopedia's coverage of sanctuary jurisdictions » | |
The Kansas City Kansas Board of Education voted 5-0 to pass a resolution stating that all students had the right to an education regardless of their immigration status or their family's immigration status on February 28, 2017. The resolution called for fair treatment of all students "without regard for race, ethnicity, citizenship, immigration status or national origin" and directed district staff to not inquire about a student's immigration status. The resolution also said that any request by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to access district property had to be processed by the superintendent, who was instructed to "consult with legal counsel to ensure compliance with the law."[12]
Board members Evelyn Hill, Brenda Jones, Rick Behrens, Irene Caudillo, and Valdenia Winn voted in favor of the resolution. The sixth member of the board, Richard Kaminski, was absent at the time of the vote, and the seventh seat was vacant.[13]
President Donald Trump (R) signed an executive order on January 25, 2017, that introduced penalties against sanctuary districts. A memo produced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on May 22, 2017, stated that a sanctuary district was any jurisdiction that did not comply with 8 U.S. Code § 1373, which required all levels of government to communicate information about immigration status to the ICE. A federal ruling on April 25, 2017, halted the executive order.[14][15]
SB 158 and HB 2275, two Kansas state bills seeking to prohibit municipalities and state agencies from becoming sanctuary districts, were introduced in February 2017. The Federal and State Affairs Committee of the Kansas State Senate recommended SB 158 be passed from committee on March 27, 2017. HB 2275 was referred to the Federal and State Affairs Committee in the Kansas House of Representatives on February 7, 2017. Neither bill was passed before the 2017 legislative session ended on June 26, 2017.[16][17]
Issues in the state
State education funding bill
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled on October 2, 2017, that the Kansas State Legislature had not met its constitutional obligation to adequately and equitably fund public schools, echoing a March 2017 ruling from the same court that had required the state legislature to send more money to public schools. State lawmakers responded to that March 2017 ruling by a passing a bill that increased funding for the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years by $293 million. The October 2017 ruling said that increase was not enough and directed lawmakers to craft a new education funding bill by June 30, 2018.[18][19][20]
The October 2017 ruling found that the $293 million increase failed to meet the state constitution's requirement for public education. Article 6 states, “The legislature shall make suitable provision for finance of the educational interests of the state.” In earlier court decisions Article 6 was interpreted to require the state to provide funding to public schools that is adequate and equitable. The adequacy requirement calls for the state's education funding system to be "reasonably calculated to have all Kansas public education students meet or exceed the standards." Under the equity requirement, “School districts must have reasonably equal access to substantially similar educational opportunity through similar tax effort.”[21]
The October 2017 ruling was the latest in a 20-year state battle over school finance, and it was the fifth time in three years that the Kansas Supreme Court determined the state legislature had underfunded public education. The case, Gannon v. Kansas, was filed by the Wichita, Hutchinson, Dodge City, and Kansas City school districts in November 2010.[18][22]
Republican leadership in the state legislature issued a statement that condemned the court's ruling and called it an unrealistic demand. “This ruling shows clear disrespect for the legislative process and puts the rest of state government and programs in jeopardy,” the statement said.[18]
Sen. Julia Lynn (R-9) said she believed there would “never, ever be enough money” to meet the court's satisfaction. “And unless somebody else has a better idea, we’re going to be doing this for the rest of our legislative lives, the Legislature will be fighting this,” said Lynn.[18]
When the legislature was directed to pass a new education funding plan in March 2017, the court did not say how much education funding had to increase.[23] Before the final bill was passed, Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley (D-19) said he believed drafts from both the Senate and House were inadequate.[24] He proposed an increase of $420 million for two years, but it was rejected in a 23-16 vote.[25]
When the bill was passed on June 6, 2017, the legislative session had been open for 108 days of what was scheduled to be a 100-day session. It was one of the longest sessions in the state's history. State lawmakers passed a bill to increase income taxes and end a tax exemption for farms and businesses on June 7, 2017, as part of a plan to fund the education increase and fill an $889 million budget shortfall. Gov. Sam Brownback (R) vetoed the tax bill, but both chambers of the legislature voted to override the veto with a two-thirds majority.[20]
The justices allowed the education funding bill to take effect while they determined if it met constitutional requirements, which allowed school districts to create their budgets for the 2017-2018 school year.[26] With a deadline of April 30, 2018, to craft a new education funding bill to meet the October 2017 ruling's requirements, the legislature did not have to go into special session in 2017. The 2018 session of the legislature began in January 2018.[18]
On April 7, 2018, legislators passed a school funding bill (SB 423) intended to increase K-12 funding by more than $500 million over five years. Gov. Jeff Colyer (R) signed the legislation on April 17, 2018. The Kansas State Department of Education identified that the legislation contained an $80 million error in the first year, decreasing the amount of funding from $150 million to $72 million. On April 30, 2018, lawmakers approved a measure correcting the error. Gov. Colyer signed the legislation on May 4, 2018.[27]
On June 25, 2018, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the state's legislative adjustments to education funding, SB 423 and SB 61, were equitable but inadequate. The court concluded that Kansas had not met the adequacy requirement in Article 6 of the state constitution. The court advised the state to undertake further adjustments to inflation and allowed the legislation (SB 19, SB 423, and SB 61) to temporarily remain in effect, thus providing funding for Kansas schools for the 2018-2019 school year. The court extended the deadline for the state to fulfill its constitutional duties to June 30, 2019.[28]
In April 2019, the Kansas legislature passed a law that increased the state's education budget by $900 million each year. On June 14, 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that with the passage of the April 2019 law, the state was adequately funding education. When issuing the ruling, the court chose to keep the lawsuit open so it could monitor education funding in future years' budgets.[29][30]
Candidate survey
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About the district
The Kansas City Kansas school district is located in Kansas City, the county seat of Wyandotte County, in northeastern Kansas. The county was home to an estimated 163,831 residents in 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[31] The district was the fifth-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 22,129 students.[32]
Demographics
Wyandotte County underperformed compared to Kansas as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 15.9 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 31 percent of state residents. During that same time period, the median household income in Wyandotte County was $40,113, compared to $52,205 for the entire state. The poverty rate in the county was 21.9 percent, while it was 13 percent statewide.[31]
| Racial Demographics, 2015[31] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Wyandotte County (%) |
Kansas (%) |
| White | 66.9 | 86.7 |
| Black or African American | 24.3 | 6.3 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.3 | 1.2 |
| Asian | 4.1 | 2.9 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 3.1 | 2.9 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 27.7 | 11.6 |
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.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Kansas City Kansas Public Schools Kansas election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Kansas City Kansas Public Schools | Kansas | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wyandotte County Election Office, "2017 Candidate Filings," accessed June 2, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, "Board Vacancy Notice: At-large Member to Fill Vacancy for the Remainder of the Unexpired Term," accessed March 13, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, "Special Meeting Agenda (Monday, April 17, 2017)," accessed May 30, 2017
- ↑ Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, "Board of Education," accessed May 30, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Kansas State Department of Education, "School Board Member Elections," accessed May 30, 2017
- ↑ Open States, "HB 2104 - Kansas 2015-2016 Regular Session," accessed June 4, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "Registration & Voting," accessed July 5, 2017
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "got voter ID?" accessed July 5, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 2014 Kansas Statutes, "KS Stat § 25-904 (2014)," accessed June 8, 2017
- ↑ MainPac, "MainPAC Endorsements," accessed October 13, 2017
- ↑ Equality Kansas, "2017 Municipal and School Board Primary Election Endorsements," July 16, 2017
- ↑ Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, "Resolution of the Board of Education of Unified School District No. 500, Wyandotte County, Kansas," February 28, 2017
- ↑ Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, "Meeting Minutes: Regular Meeting Agenda (Tuesday, February 28, 2017)," accessed June 12, 2017
- ↑ Cornell Law School, "8 U.S. Code § 1373 - Communication between government agencies and the Immigration and Naturalization Service," accessed May 23, 2017
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Sessions memo defines sanctuary cities — and hints that the definition may widen," May 22, 2017
- ↑ Open States, "SB 158," accessed July 24, 2017
- ↑ Open States, "HB 2275," accessed July 24, 2017
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 The Wichita Eagle, "School funding still inadequate and unfair, Supreme Court rules," October 2, 2017
- ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "Kansas Lawmakers Pass School Aid Increase, Income Tax Hike," June 6, 2017
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 U.S. News & World Report, "Kansas Lawmakers Override Governor Veto," June 7, 2017
- ↑ Justia US Law, "Gannon v. State," accessed October 16, 2017
- ↑ The Wichita Eagle, "Interactive timeline: Kansas school-funding dispute," February 11, 2016
- ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "Some Lawmakers Say Kansas Education Funding May Be Too Small," May 31, 2017
- ↑ The Kansas City Star, "Kansas Senate agrees to school finance formula, but warnings from Democrats continue," May 31, 2017
- ↑ AP News,"Kansas lawmakers sweeten education plan, advance tax hike," May 13, 2017
- ↑ The Sentinel, "Kansas Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments on School Finance," June 21, 2017
- ↑ The Kansas City Star, "'A very strong bill': Gov. Colyer signs off on school finance plan," April 17, 2018
- ↑ Kansas Judicial Branch, "Gannon v. Kansas," accessed July 14, 2021
- ↑ AP News, "Kansas high court says education funding is adequate," June 14, 2019
- ↑ Education Dive, "States' failure to track education funds complicates spending model overhauls," July 17, 2019
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: Wyandotte County, Kansas," accessed May 26, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data, file ccd_lea_052_1414_w_0216161a, 2014-2015," accessed November 16, 2016
