Lawrence Public Schools, Kansas elections (2017)
This page is about the 2017 school board election for Lawrence Public Schools in Kansas. For the Massachusetts school district of the same name, click here.
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Three of the seven seats on the Lawrence Public Schools Board of Education in Kansas were up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. Incumbent Melissa Johnson and newcomers Kelly Jones and Ronald "GR" Gordon-Ross defeated challengers Jill Hayhurst, James Alan Hollinger, Gretchen Alix Lister, and Steve Wallace.[1][2] The winners of the 2017 election were tasked with appointing the district's next superintendent. The district's last permanent superintendent stepped down in June 2016.[3] For information on what the candidates said they would look for in the next superintendent, click here.
Hayhurst and Wallace announced they were informally withdrawing from the race in September 2017. Because the announcement came after the candidate filing deadline, their names still appeared on the ballot.[4]
Fewer incumbents filed to run for re-election in 2017 compared to the district's 2015 election. For information on election trends in the district and the state, click here.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Lawrence 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. Five seats—four regular four-year terms and one unexpired two-year term—were up for election on April 7, 2015, and three seats were up for election on November 7, 2017. A primary election would have been held on August 1, 2017, if 10 or more candidates had filed to run in the election (more than three candidates per seat).[1][5][6]
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.[7]
To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file by June 1, 2017.[6] To vote in the election, citizens of the school district had to register by October 17, 2017.[8] Photo identification was required to vote in Kansas.[9]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| Lawrence Public Schools, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Melissa Johnson Incumbent |
28.90% | 8,824 |
| Kelly Jones |
21.95% | 6,701 |
| Ronald Gordon-Ross |
15.11% | 4,614 |
| Gretchen Alix Lister | 12.08% | 3,689 |
| James Alan Hollinger | 9.43% | 2,878 |
| Jill Hayhurst | 7.05% | 2,151 |
| Steve Wallace | 5.48% | 1,672 |
| Total Votes | 30,529 | |
| Source: Douglas County, Kansas, "Online election results (official)," accessed November 17, 2017 | ||
Candidates
Melissa Johnson 
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Ronald "GR" Gordon-Ross
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Jill Hayhurst | |||
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| James Alan Hollinger | Kelly Jones
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| Gretchen Alix Lister | Steve Wallace | ||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Kansas elections, 2017
The Lawrence Board of Education shared the ballot with elections for the Lawrence City Commission as well as a referendum to renew a 0.55 percent city sales tax.[1][10]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Kansas school board elections in 2017:[6][8][11]
| 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 Melissa Johnson and challengers Kelly Jones and Ronald Gordon-Ross.[12] Johnson was also endorsed by Girls Rock Lawrence and by Lawrence Board of Education members Jessica Beeson, Marcel Harmon, and Vanessa Sanburn.[13][14]
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
Ballotpedia did not identify any campaign contributions or expenditures in the election.[15]
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.[11]
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.[11]
Past elections
To see results from past elections in Lawrence Public Schools, click here.
What was at stake?
Issues in the election
Candidates discuss what they want to see in next district superintendent
The five candidates who actively campaigned for seats on the Lawrence Board of Education in 2017 discussed what they wanted to see in the district's next superintendent with the Lawrence Journal World.[16]
Incumbent Melissa Johnson said she would look for honesty, communication skills, and attention to detail in superintendent candidates. She also said she would look for someone with teaching experience and experience handling equity issues. “As a teacher, what I look for in a superintendent is the ability to think critically and think on their feet,” said Johnson. “It’s important to be present in the schools, and not to just be there but to listen. Tell us what we are doing well and if we’re not doing well, offer insights in how we can fix it.”[16]
Experience teaching and handling equity issues were also important traits for challenger James Alan Hollinger. He also said he would look for moral character and the ability to manage the time demands required of the position as well as the district's budget. “I think this district needs to put its best foot forward,” said Hollinger. “I would like to see an individual of color or a female.”[16]
Challenger Ronald "GR" Gordon-Ross said he wanted the next superintendent to be open and available and to have experience on diversity issues and technology. “I want to see a foundation in and track record of utilizing technology,” said Gordon-Ross. “You can spend a lot of money on technology and get very little, or spend a little money and get a lot. I want a superintendent who can show by previous experience, he or she knows how to spend money wisely on technology and knows how to use it in a way that is beneficial to everyone.”[16]
Challenger Kelly Jones said the next superintendent had to have strong community engagement skills. "I will advocate for selecting a superintendent who has a documented history of equity and inclusion work in public schools and understands that when you create equitable learning environments, all students and staff benefit,” said Jones. “A strong candidate should also demonstrate a commitment to interweave the district mission and vision into all aspects of resource allocation decisions.”[16]
“I want someone who has walked in different shoes experientially wise and work-wise,” said challenger Gretchen Alix Lister. “Our students are going to have more than one career. I want someone out of the box. I want someone with a really rich life experience. It doesn’t have to be in education.” She also said she wanted someone "who gets out from behind his desk and talks to kids."[16]
Report a story for this election
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Candidate survey
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Election trends
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
The 2017 Lawrence Board of Education election had fewer incumbents file to run for re-election compared to the district's 2015 election. In 2015, incumbents ran for four of the five seats on the ballot, while in 2017, one incumbent ran for one of the three seats.
Three of the four incumbents who ran in 2015 won additional terms on the board—a 75 percent success rate. Newcomers won two seats that year. The 2017 race was guaranteed to elect two newcomers as well due to open seats.
| School board election trends | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Lawrence Public Schools | ||||||
| 2017 | 2.33 | 0.00% | 33.33% | 100.00% | 66.67% | |
| 2015 | 2.20 | 0.00% | 80.00% | 75.00% | 40.00% | |
| 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 appoints new interim superintendent
The Lawrence Board of Education unanimously appointed Anna Stubblefield, the district's assistant superintendent of educational support and equity, as interim superintendent on June 20, 2017. She started the role on July 1, 2017, replacing former interim Superintendent Kyle Hayden, who transitioned to the position of chief operations officer.[3]
Hayden served as interim superintendent for one year from July 2016 to June 2017. He was appointed after former Superintendent Rick Doll stepped down from the position.[3]
Stubblefield was appointed to serve as interim superintendent for the 2017-2018 school year. Along with Stubblefield's appointment, the board announced that it planned to start searching for a permanent superintendent in the fall of 2017 and to appoint one by February 2018.[3]
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.[17][18][19]
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.”[20]
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.[17][21]
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.[17]
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.[17]
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.[22] 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.[23] He proposed an increase of $420 million for two years, but it was rejected in a 23-16 vote.[24]
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.[19]
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.[25] 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.[17]
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.[26]
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.[27]
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.[28][29]
About the district
- See also: Lawrence Public Schools, Kansas
The Lawrence school district is located in Lawrence, the seat of government for Douglas County, in northeastern Kansas. The county was home to an estimated 119,440 residents in 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[30] The district was the seventh-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 11,839 students.[31]
Demographics
Douglas County outperformed Kansas as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 49.1 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 31 percent of state residents. During the same time period, the median household income in the county was $50,939, compared to $52,205 for the entire state. The poverty rate in Douglas County was 19.4 percent, while it was 13 percent statewide.[30]
| Racial Demographics, 2015[30] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Douglas County (%) |
Kansas (%) |
| White | 84.0 | 86.7 |
| Black or African American | 4.6 | 6.3 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 2.8 | 1.2 |
| Asian | 4.8 | 2.9 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 3.8 | 2.9 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 6.0 | 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 Lawrence Public Schools Kansas election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Lawrence Public Schools | Kansas | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Douglas County Clerk, "Official City/School Candidate Filings," accessed June 1, 2017
- ↑ Douglas County, Kansas, "Online election results (unofficial)," accessed November 8, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lawrence Journal-World, "Lawrence school board selects Anna Stubblefield as interim superintendent," June 20, 2017
- ↑ Lawrence Journal-World, "Two candidates drop out of Lawrence school board race," September 29, 2017
- ↑ Lawrence Public Schools, "Lawrence Board of Education," accessed May 30, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 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
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "Registration & Voting," accessed July 5, 2017
- ↑ [http://www.gotvoterid.com/ Kansas Secretary of State, "got voter ID?" accessed July 5, 2017]
- ↑ The University Daily Kansan, "Lawrence elections preview: registering to vote; taxes and economics focal points," August 29, 2017
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 2014 Kansas Statutes, "KS Stat § 25-904 (2014)," accessed June 8, 2017
- ↑ MainPac, "MainPAC Endorsements," accessed October 13, 2017
- ↑ MainPac, "MainPAC Endorsements," accessed October 13, 2017
- ↑ Melissa Johnson, "Endorsements," accessed October 13, 2017
- ↑ Douglas County, "Candidate Reports: City Current Candidates & Elected Officials," accessed December 18, 2017
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 Lawrence Journal-World, "Lawrence school board candidates state what they want in next superintendent," October 4, 2017
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 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
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 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
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: Douglas County, Kansas," accessed May 30, 2017
- ↑ 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
| Lawrence Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Douglas County, Kansas | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Melissa Johnson • Ronald "GR" Gordon-Ross • Jill Hayhurst • James Alan Hollinger • Kelly Jones • Gretchen Alix Lister • Steve Wallace |
| Important information: | What's at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
